(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 303 PAINT. Highland county on the west, Buckskin township on the north, Twin on the east, and Paxton on the south, define the boundaries of Paint township. Its inhabitants form a purely agricultural community. For many years past no business enterprise, of any moment, has been carried on within its limits. Since the wheels of the Rapids Forge industries ceased to turn, its hills have known no sounds distinct from those pertaining to quiet rural occupations, save when some person has established in the woods a small saw-mill or "corn-cracker." Paint is a region of narrow valleys and wild hill ranges, and the proximity of a more level and densely populated region on each side has prevented the immediate necessity which is indispensable to the growth of commercial and industrial interests. The best farming lands of the township lie in the three principal valleys—the northern bank of Paint creek, the valley of Buckskin, and that of Twin creek. Smaller streams—Cliff and Cave runs and Whetstone creek cut through the hills at various points, but form mere narrow notches with little bottom land. The northern slope of Paint valley is narrower than that at the south. The hills rise sometimes very near the bank of the creek, and never recede with the wide sweep seen elsewhere. Through the township, on the bank of the stream, extends the old highway, known as the Anderson road, laid out in 1804, once an important line of travel, now almost deserted for the better road through Buckskin valley, to the northward, or the Milford and Chillicothe turnpike across the creek. To one who rides rather in search of picturesque scenery or historical interest, than for business, the old, grass-grown highway is more pleasant than either of its rivals. It does not take a great stretch of the imagination to carry the traveler back to the day when the creaking wagons of the immigrant toiled in picturesque procession along its uneven course; when the old oaks and sycamores were illuminated by his camp fire, and his hobbled horses browsed among the wild rye at its side. In treating of Paxton township, much has been said of the points of interest along the course of Paint creek, where it divides the two townships, but much more might well be added. He who is familiar with the history of the time which we call old, the yesterday of eighty years ago, can not fail to find this valley teeming with associations. Pass above the rapids until their murmur becomes indistinct in the distance, and on the bank of the stream, marked with the indentation of recent hoofs and wheels, you will find the Indian ford. Not a mere empty name this. Back of the settlement farther than the knowledge of the white intruders could extend, for years, perhaps for centuries, the war and hunting paths of the red men converged at this point. From east and west on either side of the valley they came here to camp and cross the waters of the stream. Yonder old oak on the bank could tell, were it less discreet, of many a plot against red foes or white enemies laid about those bivouac fires, and the dusky single files steadily moving across the channel, seem, even now, to flit through the half-light of the early January evening, bound for some rendezvous in the happy hunting grounds. Still farther on, the road becoming less distinct at every step, we reach Cliff run, the most desolate of places, scene of the Lovell tragedy, famous in the criminal annals of Ross county. If Blackburn enticed Mary Lovell to this wierd and desolate spot with mind resolved to there end her life in the darkness of a tempestuous March night, he must have had a will of iron and nerves incapable of unsteadiness. The road passing westward makes a sharp turn to the right, then a sudden descent, a turn to the left, and enters a gap in the cliffs which gives to the run its name. The limestone rock faces to the water on the eastern side, a sheer descent of sixty feet, and the narrow stream disappears from view only a few rods below in a tangle of trees and underbrush. Some superstitious persons dislike to pass this way after nightfall, averring that the sound of a struggle, a half-smothered cry and the dull thud of a falling body was to be heard, if the night is tempestuous, in the dark gorge of Cliff run, where the dead body of Mary Lovell was found. Hereafter we will give an account of this peculiarly tragic affair. When the features of this portion of the township have been described, little remains to be done, for there is no substantial difference between it and the northern part. Everywhere is the same succession of hills enclosing the same miniature valleys. Paint has yet much to do in the way of internal improvement. Its roads are far from being what they should be, and but few bridges exist within its limits. In summer it is delightful to ride through natural roads, and is no difficult task to ford the streams that are so constantly encountered, but, after a long succession of winter rains, when Buckskin creek, Cliff and Cave runs are swollen, the task of penetrating to the heart of the township is one better befitting the adventurous spirit, of a Stanley or Livingstone than an ordinary traveler. There is no village in Paint, and it is rather sparsely 304 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO. populated. Much of the country is still in forest, and the fertile areas are not proportionately so long as in some other townships of the county. All these things are to be taken into account in considering the matter, but it cannot be doubted that a reasonable outlay in constructing a pike to connect Greenfield with Bainbridge in a straight line, and another along the bottom of Buckskin creek, would pay its projectors in dollars and cents, and would have an immediate influence upon the value of real estate in the township, which would render the investment a very profitable one. SETTLEMENT. During the latter part of the year 1799, Jacob Hare came from Virginia and settled in the northern part of Paint township, and he was one of the very earliest, if not actually the first settler north of Amsterdam. He was a man of great determination, almost amounting to obstinacy, and well fitted to encounter the hardships of pioneer life. During the Revolution he had been a strong royalist, and bore the marks of his sentiments in his ears, which the zealous patribts of Virginia had cropped as a punishment for his determined Toryism. It is related of him that he hurrahed for King George when on his death-bed, many years after his removal to Ohio. He purchased land of Massie, and settled about a mile and a half from Bethesda chapel. One day, while at work about his house, Mr. Hare heard a great commotion in a ravine near by, and, taking his gun and hunting knife, went to the spot, where he found that his dogs had attacked a large bear and brought him to bay. Fearing to shoot, lest he should injure the dogs, Mr. Hare attacked the bear with his knife. It reared on its hind legs, and succeeded in getting a hold about his body, embracing him in a manner more close than affectionate. While in this position, Mr. Hare plunged his knife into the body of his huge enemy time after time, until its hold relaxed and it fell dead, leaving him none the worse, except for a few slight scratches. During the year 1796, Jacob and Enoch Smith, two brothers, came from Virginia, with a number of companions, to find a home in the Scioto country. They had no predetermined destination, and, arriving at the falls of Paint, they were much impressed with the beauty of the place, and the fine water power of the fall. Both were millwrights by trade, and had come out with the intention of building a mill at some point in the new country. All the land about the falls then belonged to General Massie, and, going into camp, they dispatched some of their number to see him and ascertain on what terms a purchase could be made. General Massie appreciated the great importance of having a mill in the township, and especially at that point, so he. made very liberal terms with the newcomers. He offered them one hundred acres of wild land on the north side of the creek for every twenty acres they should clear on the south side. He had previously determined to make his own home where he afterwards erected the house now occupied by Mr. West, in Paxton, and this arrangement was quite as advantageous to him as to the Smith colony. His offer also included the privilege of raising two successive crops from the cleared land. General Massie's proposition was at once accepted. The fact that the colonists were to have the first crops from Massie's land, obviated the necessity of at once clearing corn land for themselves; so, building a little village of cabins on the north side of the creek, they began operations in a very energetic manner. The corn crop among the scattered colonists to the eastward had been very successful that year, and the settlers at the falls had no difficulty in procuring a supply. In the woods on all sides was abundant game, scarcely needing to be hunted, and this means of supplying their larder seemed to the newcomers only sport. In the meantime every man was carving out for himself a home. It is not surprising that the colonists should have looked back to those first months in the wilderness as a protracted holiday. In 1797 Massie united with the Smiths in building a dam at the place, where Amsterdam afterward stood, and during that year the work of building was pushed forward with much energy. Massie built a small mill for the accommodation of his immediate neighbors on his own side of the creek, and the Smiths built a large and, for that day, fine one on the north side. These mills were put into operation in 1798. Massie did not intend to compete with his neighbors, and his mill never amounted to much, and was soon washed away. The Smith mill was enlarged and improved from time to time, and was for years an important factor in the domestic life of the Paint valley. For fully a decade most of the corn and wheat of Highland county was brought there for grinding, and for several years more it had a monopoly of the business in its own immediate vicinity. Among those who were attracted to the Smith settlement, previous to the year 1800, were Zachariah Taylor and Robert Halliday, who came out early in the year 1799. Taylor was from Baltimore, Maryland. They remained at the falls for about a year, and then, in 1800, bought of Nathaniel Massie, farms near where Hare had previously settled, and established themselves there. During the year of their stay at the falls, the town of New Amsterdam, a place which was fated to sadly disappoint the hopes of its founders, was laid out. The Smith brothers had become much elated by the important position assumed by their pioneer mill, and saw the promise of a great future for the settlement. The fertility of the surrounding country, the fine water-power, the fact that no rival site in the neighborhood could offer corresponding advantages all these circumstances conspired to justify their assumption that a town laid out at the falls would soon rise to a permanent position as a center of trade. Laboring under this belief, the Smiths employed, in the spring of 1799, a surveyor, and defined the limits of a town on a very liberal plan. Streets were laid out, a public' square located, and a general christening had. All the streets, with the exception of two, were named for famous men, of whom the late war had created a supply ; these two streets were called respectively Virginia and Hudson streets. HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 305 The Smiths were of Dutch extraction, and, actuated by a loyalty to their mother country, they called their town NEW AMSTERDAM. For a time the promise of the young town was good. Actual streets occupied the place of the blazed traces of the surveyor. On these streets cabins were built, and these improvements, with the crowd of men and horses attracted from the surrounding country by the mill, gave the village quite an animated appearance. It was not, however, destined to live. Various causes, malaria among the rest, were arrayed in opposition. Baldwin, Crawford, and Spargur, in Highland county, built newer and better mills above, and attracted the western settlement ; Christian Benner did the same below, and New Amsterdam first suffered an arrest of development and then fell into decay. Many years ago it lapsed into its first condition, and became a town merely on paper. Today, in the tax roll of Paint, some property near the falls is returned, by number, as town lots, but it would puzzle many an intelligent man living within a dozen miles of its site to tell where New Amsterdam was, as much as it would trouble the savants of Europe to agree upon the location of ancient Troy, or the cities of the plain. In the fall of 1799, John Gray came from Pennsylvania, and went into camp on Pee Pee creek, in Pike county. Early in the year 1800, he removed to Paint township, and settled on Twin creek. He bought a hundred acres of land, from which not a tree had been cut, and attacked the work of reducing it to cultivation. With him came his wife and two children: Anna, a daughter, aged three years, and a son younger. Gray taught school at his own and neighboring houses, and eventually building a log school-house on his farm, continued for some years to be the most prominent, as he was probably the first, teacher in Paint. The daughter, Anna, married Henry Moomaw, and is still living at the advanced age of eighty-four years, with her son. Another son, Jacob Moomaw, lives not far from the old, homestead. Among other settlers in the Twin creek neighborhood, at about the time of Mr. Gray's coming, were George Brown, George Walker, Thomas Mahan, Jacob Myers and Thomas McDonald, and these men, with their families, were the only settlers on Paint creek in the year 1800. George Brown settled on Twin Ridge road, where William Brown now lives, in the fall of the year 1799. He was a notable man among the early settlers, taking active steps in matters of education, and in everything pertaining to the welfare of the people. On his farm, John Gray taught school, after first establishing it at his own house, and on the same place there is a school to this day. The first building erected for school purposes was on the Brown farm, and was a very primitive structure. Four posts were set in the ground, and logs laid from one to another. The outside was made of poles, and a pole roof, chinked with clay, covered it. On one side an opening was left for a window, and this was covered with oiled paper. The seats for scholars were rails, and a board fastened along the side of the room, under the windows, was the only writing table. A shingle, upon which were painted the letters of the alphabet, was the first text book. Men and women, now living in this neighborhood, received in this rude hut, and by such a simple device as that named, their first initiation into the mysteries of orthography. Henry S. Fernandus and John. Orval followed Gray in the old school-house. Mr. Brown leaves many descendants. Two sons are now farmers in Paint, the one, William, at the home farm, and Alexander, the other, on Paint creek, occupying the old Pepple homestead, and owning a portion of the original Pepple farm. A full account of the settlement of Abraham Pepple, in 1805, is given in the history of Paxton, the township where he first lived. Dennis E., son of Austin, and grandson of Abraham Pepple, now owns about half of the farm in Paint, where Abraham lived up to the time of his death. One of the very earliest settlers on Buckskin creek was Alexander Scroggs. Unfortunately, the date of his coming cannot be fixed, except relatively. It must have been as early as the year 1798, for at that time the Smiths put their mill in operation at New Amsterdam, and Scroggs used to send to Portsmouth, and even into Kentucky, for flour. Joseph Rackhold came from Pennsylvania to High Bank prairie in 1797, and in 5802 removed to Cave run, in Paint, and, buying three hundred and fifty acres, lived there until his death. In 1796 Noble Crawford came out from Pennsylvania and settled at the High Bank prairie, below Chillicothe. Quite soon after 1800, he removed to Paint and purchased a farm near the William Smith place, on Buckskin creek. On the creek he built a small saw-mill, which he operated until his removal to Greenfield, about ten years later. William S. Crawford came from Kentucky to Paint in the year 1805, and settled on the farm now owned by James C. Crawford, township clerk. William Smith settled, in the year 1804, on the farm now owned by P. H. Miller. His neighbors were the Halliday, Warnick, and Irwin families. As each of these families embraced several children, a school-house was built, about the year 1805, on the farm of Mr. Smith, and a teacher, named James Caldwell, employed. For some time no other families than those named were represented in the school. About this time, too, came John Edmiston and Hugh McClelland, the former of whom was for many years prominent in the politics of the township. Jacob, father of David, Walley came from Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 181o. In the same year David Snyder, sr., came from Buckskin, where he had settled in , 800, and bought the farm where his son, David, now lives. Daniel Precer, with his large family, since so prominent in the township, settled in what is called the Precer neighborhood, in 1814. Among the settlers after that date were: Andrew Knuckles and Edmund, his son, in 1816; Weller, father of Frederick Weller, in 1818; Thomas Cox and Seth 306 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO. Sayre, 1823; James Stinson, 1824; Jacob Middleton, 1825, and James Middleton, father of T. O. Middleton, 183o. In 1829, William Middleton came and settled near the others of his name, in the neighborhood of Bethesda. RAPIDS FORGE. In another place, when describing the points of interest on Paint creek, something has been said on this subject. It deserves however, a more minute treatment than it has received, being by far the most important of the early industrial enterprises of Ross county. About 1815 Thomas James, a man of means and enterprise, conceived the idea of utilizing the vast waterpower of Paint rapids. Becoming more and more impressed with the desirability of the place as a mill site, he purchased land on both sides of the creek, including all the water-power, and at once proceeded to push forward the work. Richard Hulitt had built, about ten years previously, a saw- and grist-mill a few hundred feet above the site which Mr. James had selected for his works, and beyond the Highland county line. This mill he bought, and set the saw-mill at work in getting out timber for his projected buildings. In 1815 and 1816 the dam and race were built, and in 1817 the forge was completed and put in operation. The forge was a large building, furnished with the best machinery known at the time, and doing work by the comparatively slow and expensive process of hammering now done by rolling-mills. Looking at the matter from a modern standpoint, it seems strange that any such enterprise should have been attempted, much more, that it should have been financially successful. The only elements of success which the site afforded were water-power and fuel. The roads were merely roughly cut paths through the forest, passed with difficulty even by lightly laden vehicles. Ore, suitable for the uses of the forge, had to be brought by teams from remote points, the timber in the neighboring forest to be cut and converted into charcoal. The iron, manufactured in comparatively small quantities, had to be again loaded upon wagons and hauled twenty-four miles to Chillicothe, and shipped on flat-boats to float down the Scioto to a market. Experienced men could only be obtained at a distance, and at wages sufficient to compensate them for giving up more attractive homes for the isolation of such a life. Yet, such was the price commanded by manufactured iron at that date, the forge paid, from the beginning and for many years, the interest on the investment and a handsome profit in addition. Mr. James was at a large expense, of course, in making his purchases, and suffered somewhat from a lack of ready money for building his works. It is said, by an old resident, that the workmen, employed in building and setting up machinery, were not promptly paid, and continued the work under a real or imagined understanding that the forge should not be put in operation until all their claims were satisfied. Mr. James saw, of course, in the operation of his works the best means of discharging his indebtedness, and, when they were finally completed, announced a certain day as the time for beginning operations. On the morning of that day a large crowd of excited men gathered at the forge, clamoring angrily for their wages and threatening to prevent, by violence, any use of the forge until they had received them. It is not recorded how they were pacified, whether by promises or more substantial means; certain it is, however, that the forge did begin, on that day, its task which was to last for thirty-five years. Between 1817 and 1830 Mr. James, with John Woodbridge and James Woodbridge, of Chillicothe, organized a stock company under the name of the Rapids Forge company, and the property and business of the forge passed into their hands. During the year 183o, the business was enlarged by the erection of nail works adjoining the forge. The nails manufactured here, were, of course, wrought by the slow process, which was the only one then known, but were of excellent quality, and commanded a large price. Between 1830 and 1840 James sold to the Woodbridge brothers his interest in the business, and they continued it under the old corporate name. During this time it was decided to add a saw-mill and a grist-mill to the business. When James made his purchase of the Hulitt mills, he, no doubt, intended to run them in connection with the forge. It was, however, found that the building of the Rapids Forge dam, at so short a distance below the old mills, backed the water up upon them, and very much diminished the power. For some time they were continued in use, but eventually James abandoned them, and, stick by stick, dam and buildings fell a prey to the insidious encroachments of the water. Within a year past one timber could be seen in the channel of Paint, marking the former location of the Hulitt dam, but that has recently followed its brethren down the stream. In 1840 the Rapids Forge company built a fine large grist-mill, having a length of one hundred, and a width of forty feet ; and about the same time a saw-mill, constructed on the most approved principles, was erected at the water's edge. From this time, for a few years, the Rapids Forge company was in its glory. The forge itself had four large power-hammers and four furnaces; the nail works was running to the limit of its capacity; the grist- and sawmills were in full operation; the company's store, established in 1828, was doing a fine business. It must have been an animated scene when the foreground along the foaming water line presented, instead of the dreary ruins of to-day, a group of large buildings, pulsing with the rythmical throbbing of the hammers to the accompaniment of the rapids ; when the roomy home of the superintendent looked down from its sightly position upon the 'clustering cottages of the workmen, where the children played at the doors or ran to meet their grimy fathers at nightfall. All this was at its height when the first blow of adversity struck the Rapids Forge company. In 1852 Paint creek rose to a very unusually high level, and its waters carried away portions of the forge and much of its valuable and expensive machinery, inflicting a great pecuniary injury on the company. The loss was, however, repaired and the business continued until. in 1859, seven years later, and forty-two years after HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 307 the first turning of the wheels of the forge, the fine gristmill was destroyed by fire. This second misfortune seemed to discourage the owners of the property; the mill was never rebuilt, and the business at the forge and nail works soon ceased. Such portions of the machinery as could be profitably rebuilt were taken to Chillicothe, and the balance, with the remaining buildings, was left to rust and crumble away. Now only a few timbers and walls, and a rusty wheel or two, remain to mark the site of what was once a large industry. The property now forms a part of the large estate belonging to the heirs of John Woodbridge. Paint creek has been the scene, in its time, of many industrial experiments, of which nothing, save a tradition, or, at the most, a half-ruined building, remains, but no other has risen to such proportion, or more suddenly passed from existence than this. THE BLACKBURN-LOVELL TRAGEDY. We now come to the most sensational and tragic event in our history the death of Mary Ann Lovell at the hands of John S. Blackburn. Miss Lovell was a milliner and was, at the time of her death, twenty-seven years of age. For some years a criminal intimacy had existed between her and Blackburn, though the latter was a man fifty years of age, and had a family of grown children. Miss Lovell had lived, during most of the time of their connection, at Leesburgh, in Highland county, while Blackburn resided at Greenfield, a few miles distant. A short time before the murder (if such it was) Miss Lovell had removed from Leesburgh to Cincinnati, and taken up her residence with her aunt, Mrs. Fanny Blackburn, sister-in-law of the accused. During her stay at that place Blackburn saw her several times, and, whether of her own motives or influenced by his solicitations, she came to Greenfield March 20, 1871. In our account of the case we cannot pretend to make an independent decision of its merits, but are bound to assume that the theory of the prosecution, sustained, as it was, by the verdict of a carefully selected jury, was the correct one. The twentieth of March was a blustering, rainy day such a day as one would expect the twentieth of March to be; a day on which no sane person would plan an excursion into the cemetery, unless urged by the strongest necessity. Meeting Miss Lovell in Greenfield, Blackburn joined her, and they went on foot, at whose suggestion will never be certainly known, to the house of Hugh Milligan, brother-in-law of Blackburn. The State claimed that this was done at the request of Blackburn, who desired an opportunity to rid himself of Miss Lovell at any cost. The defence, on the other hand, urged that the movement was made at the solicitation of Miss Lovell, who had determined on suicide, and desired to induce Blackburn to join her in the deed. At Milligan's, Blackburn went to the stable and procured a horse, without the knowledge of its owner, and, mounting it in front he placed Miss Lovell behind him, and rode toward Cliff run, along the Rocky Forge road. Arriving at the place where the Rocky Forge road crossed Cliff run, the horse was turned into the woods, and dismounting, Blackburn tied him to a tree and left him. A description of the locality has already been given on another page. Turning from the road the two walked to a:point very near the junction of Cliff run with Paint creek, and there Miss Lovell met her death. What passed no living person save Blackburn saw, and it is necessary to rely upon purely circumstantial evidence to determine. Blackburn says that after same conversation, Mary took from her pocket a small bottle, and endeavored to persuade him to swallow a portion of it, and he, declining so to do, left her and went to Milligan's, and slept the remainder of the night. The start from Greenfield was made after nightfall, and the act could not have been committed until after midnight. On the succeeding day Blackburn said to Milligan, "I'm afraid that woman is dead." Milligan paid little heed to the remark, as he considered Blackburn to be somewhat unsound in his mind, but, as more and more was said, and as Blackburn told him where the body might be found, he went to the spot and found the remains at a, point about thirteen feet from Paint creek, and eight feet from the run, lying on its back with the feet a little higher than the head and the clothing somewhat disarranged and muddy. All about were footprints, the delicate, fashionable shoe of a woman,—the clumsier track of a man, with other indications of a struggle. Going at once to Greenfield, Milligan gave the alarm and returned to the spot with the marshal of that place. An inquest was at once held, and Blackburn placed under arrest. The stomach of the deceased was removed, and subsequently subjected to a careful chemical analysis. The trial began November 21, 1871, at Chillicothe, and excited the greatest interest. Judge William H. Safford presided. The State was represented by L. F. Neil, prosecuting attorney, assisted by Milton H. Clark. George E. Pugh, James W. Fitzgerald, of Cincinnati, Judge Sloane, H. L. Dickey, S. L. Wallace, and Thomas Beach, of Ross county, and W. H. Irwin, of Greenfield, appeared for the defence, assisted, in reality, by C. H. Blackburn, of Cincinnati, brother of the prisoner, though he did not appear of record as one of the attorneys in the case. The facts elicited at the trial, aside from those stated, were mainly these, viz.: That the stomach of the deceased contained a small quantity of a dark-colored liquid, resembling in appearance, and by analysis, port wine; that the prisoner had, on the day of the murder, purchased a bottle of port wine of a druggist in Greenfield ; that the stomach also contained a small quantity of strychnine, but sufficient to cause death. That the prisoner had exhibited to several persons, a few days before the murder, a small phial, such as chemists use for powerful and dangerous drugs, and had made mysterious allusions as to its intended use; that the throat of the deceased showed marks of compression resembling the imprint of fingers; that the ground showed marked evidences of a struggle, and that the deceased had come to her death by the combined effects of poison and strangulation. In addition to this the prosecution showed ample motive for the crime, and the defence introduced evidence to prove the insanity of the prisoner. 308 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO The theory of the State was that readily suggested by the circumstances, that Blackburn had enticed the woman to the lonely spot where her body was found, and then forced her to take the poison ; that of the defence that it was a case of suicide. After a trial extending over a period of three weeks, the case went to the jury, and a verdict of guilty, on two counts of the indictments, of murder in the second degree was rendered. The presiding judge then administered the prescribed sentence of imprisonment for life, but granted a stay of proceedings to allow counsel time necessary to make a motion for a new trial. This motion was duly made before Judge Safford and was denied. Then the case was carried to the supreme court on a writ of error, the conviction reversed, and a new trial ordered on a technical point. Pending the new trial, a bill passed the legislature allowing the court of common pleas to appoint in such a case a commission in lunacy, and the application was at once made and granted for such appointment. This commission, after a protracted inquiry, declared the prisoner to be insane, thus essentially defeating the conviction, and he was handed over to the proper authorities and confined in an asylum. He was afterward discharged, went west, and disappeared from view. So ended one of the most interesting criminal trials in the history of Ohio, leaving practically unanswered, the question, " How did Mary Jane Lovell meet her death ?" CHURCHES. The church history of Paint is not very striking. The religious organizations within its boundaries have not been very numerous, nor have individual bodies been large. Greenfield, South Salem, Bourneville, Bainbridge and Frankfort have all had churches within easy reach of various portions of the township, in later years, so that many of the residents have availed themselves of the facilities so afforded, and some of the early organizations have fallen into decay. METHODISM. Almost the entire sum of religious history in Paint is summed up under this head. The Methodist denomination was the pioneer organization, and has always maintained the ascendancy over all others. In every young community in the new country is found the same record of toilsome service and stern self-denial, the same gatherings of a few families in remote portions of the country, the long rides form place to place, winter and summer, over blind trails and swollen streams, with no prospect of preferment or even adequate support. The first regular church establishment in Paint, was that of RAPIDS FORGE CHURCH which, like most of its day, originated without any design of effecting any permanent organization. At a very early date, before Rapids Forge was in operation, and while the community was still composed principally of pioneer farmers, preaching was commenced at the house of James Havens, a resident of Paint township near the rapids. Though it cannot be said who was the first preacher at this place, we know that George W. Maley, a pioneer of the Methodist itinerancy, was one of the earliest. At other houses and at the various school- buildings, wherever a place could be secured in convenient proximity to the houses of any given neighborhood, similar preaching stations were established, and it is likely that, had it not been for the establishment of the Rapids Forge industry, the one in question would have been abandoned with many of its fellows. Up to 1828 no organization with any view to permanency was effected, but in that year with a class, including in its membership the families of the McDoles, Dwyers, Keepers, Hares, Glasscocks and others, the society was formed, which has ever since been known as the Rapids Forge church. For about four years after its organization, the young church was homeless. During the year 1830, however, the Rapids Forge company offered to donate sufficient land, near its works, for the erection of a church building, and for use as a cemetery in connection. This offer gave motive and direction to the efforts of the society, and immediate steps were taken to erect a house of worship. The land proved to be unfit for burial purposes, and when, by earnest work among the comparatively poor families composing the society, sufficient money had been pledged to warrant proceeding with the work, a conveyance was made by the Forge of a piece of ground only two hundred feet square. This conveyance was executed March 13, 1833, and, by its terms, conveyed the land described to John McDole, sr., Mark Dwyer, James Dwyer, Jonathan Sayre and Seth Sayre, and their successors in office, as trustees of the Rapids Forge church. In the ensuing year the present brick structure was so far completed as to be habitable, and was formally dedicated and attached to the Highland circuit of the Cincinnati conference. The first clergymen to serve the church in its new connection were James Quinn and Henry Turner, John McDole and Mark Dwyer being class-leaders at the same time. The class, at the time of the church organization, consisted of thirty-six persons, but the regular services thereafter held rapidly swelled their numbers. Four years later the church relapsed almost to its former condition, regular Sunday services being no longer held, and, until 1840, they were not resumed. During that year, the Rev. Messrs. Shannon and Ferguson took up the work and prosecuted it for two-years, when they were succeeded by Messrs. Ryan and Brooks. During the ministry of the latter named gentlemen, the work was prosecuted with the assistance of D. D. Hewitt and James Middleton, two lay preachers of the neighborhood, and large additions were made to the church, and from that time for many years a strong working society was maintained. In the year 1850, Rapids Forge church was transferred to the Bainbridge circuit, and was under the charge, in succession, of Messrs. Pityer, Thurston, Hathaway and Kelley. In spite of the efficient work done by these gentlemen, the society fell into decay during these years. Other churches of Methodist and other denominations had been established within easy reach, the Rapids Forge industry had been abandoned, and the civil war had HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 309 drawn largely upon its membership, and so serious were the combined effects of these causes, that in 1865 the church was closed and abandoned. In 1872 the Rev. Mr. Saunders, of the Cincinnati conference, reopened the old building, and, until 1873, held regular services, depending for his support upon individual contributions. For one year from that, the church was carried on as a mission by the Ohio conference. During the year 1874 the resuscitated church was once more regularly attached to Bainbridge circuit, and is now in a good condition and upon a better footing than ever before. Since its revival, the following gentlemen have, in the order named, been at the head of the Bainbridge circuit, and so connected with Rapids Forge church: T. G. Wakefield, Edward T. Lane, and J. A. P. Dickey, the present incumbent. The class has now a membership of seventy. The following persons are its officers: John Roads, class-leader; Henry W. Hope, Richard Glasscock and W. W. Holmes, trustees. BETHESDA CHURCH. George W. Maley, in 1831, at that time incumbent of the Highland circuit, organized a class at the house of James Middleton.. This class consisted of the following persons, viz: James Middleton and Elizabeth Middleton, his wife; Jacob Middleton and Rebecca Middleton, his wife; Jonathan Sayre and Lydia Sayre, his wife; Jacob Hare and Ann Hare, his wife; Isaac Cartwright and Sarah Cartwright, his wife; Hannah Jones, and William Middleton. This class formed the nucleus of Bethesda church. During the year 1845 a church building was erected, which was formally dedecated on the seventeenth day of August, in that year. The church is now under the charge of the Rev. James Dickey. In 1845 Lackes chapel was built on land owned by George Brown, a house on the Brown farm being moved to the spot selected, and remodeled to serve for a church building. Services have been held at this place nearly continuously since that date. Recently the church has passed into the hands of the Weslvan branch of the Methodist church, and a new building, under the name of Wesley chapel, has been erected. METHODIST PROTESTANT. In 1832 or '33 a church, known as the Cave Run church, was organized, and passed under the control of the Methodist Protestant or "Radical Methodist" denomination. Flood, Dobbins, and Dolby, were the names of its preachers, and its membership was widely scattered. No records exist, and the thirty-five years which have passed since the place of worship was removed beyond the limits of the township, have served to very nearly efface all recollection of the church, save only the bare fact that it did once exist. Another ephemeral church was that on Cave run, near the Twin Creek road, known as the Cave Run church. The "New Light" denomination had early begun to hold meetings in this neighborhood, under the prominent leadership of Joseph Rockhard, father of Elijah Rockhard, of Bainbridge, and Solomon Chaffin. In 1845 the church passed into the charge of the Radical Methodists, and a small building was erected on Cave run for their accommodation. After a time this church, too, was abandoned, its members going to the South Salem and Bainbridge churches. DUNKARD. Forty years ago Robert Calvert, a preacher of the Dunkard sect, began to hold services-at various houses in the eastern portion of Paint township. At one time the Dunkards, New Lights, and both branches of the Methodist church, held service in the neighborhood, but the combination was broken, Methodist churches were built, and soon the Dunkard meetings again assumed their distinctive character. Countryman and John Mahler followed Calvert in turn, and the strength of the denomination increased until, in 1872, they erected a neat building near the Wesley chapel, for the holding of their services. The regular preacher now is M. Hickson, a circuit rider of the denomination, while William Mallow and John Moomaw supplement his labors. ORGANIZATION. Paint township was set off on the ninth day of March, 1808, by the following order: "Ordered, that a part of Concord township be erected into a separate township, bounded as follows, vie : Beginning on Main Paint creek where Waynesville old trace crosses ; thence to the widow Compton's ; thence on an east course to Deerfield township line ; thence up said line until it strikes Main Paint ; thence down Paint to the beginning. Said township to he known by the name of Paint township. The place of holding elections to be at the house of Sanford Carders.- Of the particulars of this election, unfortunately, no record survives. Tradition, however, names the officers there elected, as follows: William Smith, treasurer; John Wilson, John Edmiston, Jared Irwin, trustees ; Robert Houston, clerk; William Smith, justice of the peace ; Thomas Collins, constable. Whether or no these were the first officers, they were very early in their term of service. The present officers of the township (1879—80) are, John C. Pricer, John M. Dwyre, James Taylor, trustees; E. J. Knuckles, treasurer; J. C. Crawford, clerk; Amos Ulen and D. W. Wisecap, justices of the peace. There are, in the township, six school districts, each of which has an excellent school. As an illustration of the purely rural character of Paint, it may be stated that, until about a year ago, there has never been a post-office within its limits; that, with the exception of the Rapids Forge establishment, there has never, until the same time, been a store in the township, and, most surprising of all, that it has never boasted a hotel. In November, 1878, after the completion of the Springfield, Jackson & Pomeroy railroad, W. S. Junkins opened a store at Bethesda, and a post-office was established at the same place with Mr. Junkins as postmaster. In October, 1879, Junkins sold out his business to Iseman & Werner, and resigned his place as postmaster, and, December 5, a commission was issued to Samuel P. Werner, one of the firm, as his successor in the office. A very small business venture is also projected at the newly christened hamlet of Spout Spring, where a man has opened a blacksmith shop and is about to establish 310 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO. a store. It will be seen from all these facts, that the Paint of to-day is not as far advanced in business matters as that of thirty years ago, a few small saw-mills, added to the two stores named, making up the sum of its accomplishments in this direction. Compensating for this lack, it has a fertile soil and industrious population, a semi-occasional railroad and the close proximity of good mills and trading points, only needing better roads to make its situation as agreeable as could be desired.