HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 375 THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK The First National Bank of Chillicothe, which is the oldest institution of the kind in Southern Ohio, commenced business on the 18th of November, 1863, with a capital of $100,000. It was one of the first banks in the country to avail itself of the advantages of the National Banking Act passed by Congress on February 25, 1863. It was the fourth in the State of Ohio to open for business and its charter, in the national system, is numbered 128. The Old Valley Bank had ended its career on the evening of November 17, 1863, and, having bought all of the appurtenances, good will and real estate of the deceased institution, the First National threw its doors open to the public on the following morning. Its first officers were : William McKell, president; William A. Cook, cashier; Theodore Spetnagel, teller, and Edward R. McKee, bookkeeper. Besides President McKell, its directors were Alexander Renick, Francis Campbell, M. Scott Cook and Othias Harman. Since its organization, the following have served the First National Bank of Chillicothe : Presidents—William McKell, 1863-82; William Cook, 1882-84 ; Amos Smith, 1884-92 ; Alexander Renick, 1892-1916. Vice presidents—Alexander Renick, 1865-66 ; Amos Smith, 1882-84 ; Alex. Renick, Jr., 1892-93 ; G. W. A. Clough, 1893-95; James C. Quinn, 1896-1905 ; Edward R. McKee, 1905-16. Cashiers—William A. Cook, 1863-66; John D. Madeira, 186683 ; Edward R. McKee, 1883-1905; Samuel M. Veail, 1905-16. The personnel of the First National is quite remarkable for long service. Alex. Renick has been associated with the bank as director, vice president and president since 1875, and the record of Edward R. McKee, the present vice president, is still more remarkable. Mr. McKee was a bookkeeper in the Old Valley Bank six years before its absorption by the First National, and is therefore in his sixtieth year of service with virtually the same banking house. The charter granted in 1863 was extended for another twenty years in October, 1882, and in 1902 was again extended for a like period. The original capital of $100,000 was increased to $150,000 in 1864 and in 1879 to $300,000. In 1894 it was reduced to its old figures, $150,000. In 1868 the bank was appointed a United States depository for public moneys, and, with the exception of one short period, had thus continued. At present it not only handles the funds deposited on the general account of the treasurer of the United States, but the postoffice funds, the postal savings and the accounts of the county. As a reminder of its age and stability, the fact is recalled that 376 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY the First National has weathered four financial panics, those of 1859, 1873, 1893-96 and 1907. Its present surplus and undivided profits amounts to about $184,000 ; circulation, $150,000 ; deposits, $1,109,000. THE ROSS COUNTY NATIONAL BANK The institution above named was incorporated May 2, 1865, with a capital of $100,000. Dr. L. W. Foulke was elected president, and Cyrus Hanby, cashier. Mr. Hanby resigned on August 18, 1865, and B. P. Kingsbury was elected cashier. The bank commenced business September 5, 1865, by winding up the affairs of the Ross County branch bank. August 2, 1869, Doctor Foulke resigned the presidency, and Cary A. Trimble was elected president, and A. Pearson, vice president. January 17, 1870, A. Pearson was advanced to the presidency, and A. P. Story was elected vice president. On March 1, 1872, the capital was increased to $150,000. February 3, 1873, A. P. Story was advanced to the presidency, on the death of Mr. Pearson. B. P. Kingsbury resigned the cashiership, September 27, 1875, and John Tomlinson was elected to that office. The present officers of the Ross County National Bank are as follows : Clark W. Story, president; John A. Poland, vice president ; Charles C. Jack, cashier. The surplus and undivided profits of the bank amount to about $124,000 ; circulation, $150,000 ; deposits, $516,000. CENTRAL NATIONAL BANK Organized July 3, 1883, the first officers of the Central National Bank were : Thomas G. McKell, president ; John D. Madeira, vice president ; Theodore Spetnagel, cashier. Mr. McKell died in 1904 and was succeeded by F. A. Stacey as president ; Mr. Madeira 's death occurred in 1894 and the vice presidency fell to John. D. McKell, and in 1907, after half a century of banking activities, Theodore Spetnagel retired from the cashiership of the Central National and was succeeded by his son, E. L. Spetnagel. The senior cashier died in 1910. The present capital stock of the bank is $100,000 ; surplus and undivided profits, $175,000, and average deposits, $600,000. The circulation is $100,000. The building now occupied by the bank was erected in 1907. CITIZENS' NATIONAL BANK The above named bank was organized in 1900, with G. A. Vaughters as president, Z. F. Downs as vice president and H. E. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 377 Holland, cashier. There has been no change in that management, except that Mr. Downs was succeeded as vice president by John P. Phillips, in 1903. The capital stock amounts to $100,000; surplus and undivided profits to about $70,000, and deposits, $500,000. THE SAVINGS BANK The Savings Bank at Chillicothe was chartered in February, 1887, and opened for business on October 10th of the same year. Its first officers were : John M. Vanmeter, president; Dr. J. B. Scearce, vice president; F. J. Esker, cashier. Mr. Vanmeter is still at the head of its affairs; Doctor Scearce died in 1910 and was succeeded as vice president by John D. McKell, and R. B. Mutchler became cashier in 1909, in place of C. A. Malone. The capital stock of the Savings Bank is $100,000; surplus and undivided profits, $162,000 ; deposits, $1,360,000. VALLEY SAVINGS BANK AND TRUST COMPANY In February, 1907, was organized the Valley Savings Bank and Trust Company, with the following (also the present) officers : George H. Smith, president ; Alex. Renick, vice president; John H. Blacker, cashier. It has a capital of $100,000 ; surplus and undivided profits, $40,000 ; deposits, $956,000. BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS A number of building and loan associations also do a good financial business in Chillicothe. The leading organizations of that class are the Mutual, Fidelity and East End. CHAPTER XIII THE TOWNSHIP OUTSIDE THE CITY SCIOTO TOWNSHIP ORGANIZED-SHRINKING TO ITS PRESENT AREA-PHYSICAL BEAUTIES-EARLY SURVEYS IN SCIOTO TOWNSHIP-THE WALLACES-THE REYNOLDS AND THE HAYNES FAMILIES-OTHER PIONEERS OF THE TOWNSHIP-NATURE 'S INDUSTRIES. Scioto Township is the background of Chillicothe in more ways than as a figure of speech, since it was created six years after the town was laid out by General Massie. One of the first acts passed by the new State Legislature of 1803 was to "regulate the election of justices of the peace, and for other purposes." Previous to the passage of that measure, justices of the peace had been appointed by the governor.  SCIOTO TOWNSHIP ORGANIZED The first section, which was passed with the act as a whole, on April 16, 1803, reads as follows : "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the associate judges of the Court of Common Pleas, in each and every county within this State, shall meet on the tenth day of May next, at the places where courts are to be held, and shall proceed to lay out their counties respectively into a convenient number of townships." The second section provides "That the judges aforesaid shall, at the time and places aforesaid, appoint to each township a proper number of justices of the peace, who shall be elected on the twenty-first day of June, at such place in each township as the said judges may direct, agreeable to the provisions of an act entitled, `An act directing the mode of conducting elections.' " SHRINKING TO ITS PRESENT AREA Reuben Abrams, William Patton and Felix Renick, associate judges for Ross County, met at the courthouse in Ross County, on Tuesday, the tenth day of May, 1803, agreeable to the law, and proceeded to regulate and establish the boundaries of the different - 378 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 379 townships in this county, and to apportion the justices of the peace to be elected in and for each. Eleven townships were thus established for Ross, and the boundaries then assigned to Scioto Township were as follows: "Beginning at the forks of the road above the house of Henry Massie, thence south twenty-five degrees, west to the road leading to Swearingen's mill; thence with said road to Paint Creek; thence up Paint Creek to the big narrows, below Vincenthollers ; thence south from the lower end of said narrows to the upper boundaries of Peepee township ; thence with said boundary to the beginning." The qualified electors in this township were required to meet at the courthouse in Chillicothe, on the twenty-first day of the following June, then and there to elect four justices of the peace for the said township. Not long after this, the Board of County Commissioners was created, having jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to the erection of new townships, the change of township lines, etc. The territory of Ross County has been greatly curtailed since that time ; some of the townships then established being comprised in the new counties, those that remained being diminished in size and new ones added. All the changes affecting the boundaries of Scioto Township, are as follows : September 9, 1806, the south part of Scioto Township and the north part of Peepee (now in Pike County) were united to form the present Township of Franklin. August 13, 1807, the line dividing Scioto and Twin townships was established "by beginning at Paint creek, at the upper end of the narrows at the mouth of the Cattail run ; thence a due south line to the dividing ridge between Sunfish and Paint creeks." August 23, 1809, it was "ordered that the line between Union and Scioto townships be run as follows : Beginning on the east bank of North Paint, on the line between James Porter and Robert McDill ; thence a straight line to the junction of the Deer Creek and Limestone roads." June 20, 1810, a part of Union Township was set off and attached to Scioto Township, "by a line beginning at the fork of the Deer Creek and Limestone roads; thence a straight line to the southeast corner of Colman's survey on main Paint; thence with the southwest line of said survey to the creek." March 5, 1811, a portion of Scioto Township was taken from the southwest part, to form the township of Huntington. April 8, 1818, it was "ordered that Scioto township be extended from the mouth of the North Fork of Paint creek; thence up main Paint, with the meanders thereof, to the mouth of the Cattail run ; thence a straight direction to the bridge on the North Fork of Paint creek; thence down said creek to the intersection 380 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY of a line run by Jeremiah McLane between Scioto and Union townships." The township lines, as these changes, and perhaps a few others, have left them, are exceedingly irregular, as are those of all the townships in the military district. The townships bounding Scioto (beginning at the north and passing around by the east) are Springfield, Liberty, Franklin, Huntington, Twin and Union. The township has a greater extent of water boundary than any other in Ross County, the Scioto River forming its boundary for about eight miles on the northeast, and Paint Creek for about five miles on the south. PHYSICAL BEAUTIES A large portion of Scioto Township is composed of the bottom lands lying along the river and Paint Creek, and the tributaries of both. These lands are among the richest in the state, and served as the chief attraction to Massie and his men when locating their land warrants in this district. At the "station prairie," two or three miles below Chillicothe, in the spring of 1796, his colony of pioneers turned up the first furrows in this virgin soil, which, although it has yielded to the plough for more than a hundred consecutive summers, seems as yet to have lost nothing of its marvelous fertility. But outside of the area watered by the streams, the land rises into irregular, undulating hills, some of which reach the height of 500 or 600 feet. All of these were originally covered with a fine growth of timber of the most valuable kinds, among which the beech and sugar maple were largely represented. Many of the original trees, of enormous size, are yet standing but, for the most part, the first growth has been removed, and, where the surface is too steep for cultivation or pasturage, second and third growths already large enough for profitable use, have taken its place. On the summits of many of these hills, however, there are broad tablelands of excellent soil, which produces good crops of Indian corn and other grain. It is the immediate neighborhood of these hills that gives to Chillicothe its beautiful setting. There are, perhaps, a dozen summits in its immediate neighborhood (some of them, like Mount Logan, lying just across the eastern line, in the adjoining township of Springfield) from any one of which a charming view is obtained, of the city and surrounding country. But the finest outlook is from the top of Cemetery Hill, just south of the city, which marks the angle between the Scioto and Paint valleys, commanding a view of both and of their junction. It was this point which,   HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 381 in one of his journeys through the country, was visited by Daniel Webster, and of which he afterward said, that he "had seldom seen a more magnificent landscape than the one there presented to the eye." On the southwestern boundary of the township, where Paint Creek separates it from Huntington, occurs that remarkable geological formation caused, as geologists suppose, at the subsidence of the glacial period, by the waters of the main creek coming on from the southwest and encountering the glacial drift bearing down through the valley of the north fork, from the northwest—thus becoming dammed up, and at last breaking over their southeastern wall and forming for themselves a new channel, which is now a rocky gorge, often not more than 200 feet wide, 300 feet deep, and extending three or four miles in a southeasterly direction —the waters at length regaining their ancient channel near the point where the two forks of the Paint unite; that is, about three miles southwest of the southern boundary of Chillicothe. EARLY SURVEYS IN SCIOTO TOWNSHIP General Massie's first surveys within the present limits of Scioto Township, were made in 1793, but owing to hostile disposition of the Indians, no permanent settlements were made until the location of Chillicothe, as already related, in 1796. The first surveys were made along the Scioto River, Paint Creek, and its two forks, where the richest lands are located. The less valuable lands, in the hilly regions remote from the streams, were entered and surveyed later, one survey being made by General Massie as late as 1847. The land warrants upon which the original surveys were made, were, of course, owned, for the most part, by Virginians, a large portion of whom never settled upon their lands, but held them for sale to actual settlers. Some of the earliest of these surveys were as follows : Survey 592, of 1100 acres, made for William Reynolds, October 5, 1793. Survey 1,260, of 1,000 acres, made for William Lawson, October 6, 1793. Survey 2216, of 534 acres, made for Thomas Lewis, October 7, 1793. On the same date survey 572, of 2,000 acres, was made for Francis Coleman. Survey 529, of 1200 acres, made for Mayo Carrington, November 3, 1793. Survey 2217, of 1490 acres, made for Nicholas Talliafero, June 16, 1797 382 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY Survey 1418, of 1,000 acres, made for John Harris, March 18, 1799. Survey, 235, of 1200 acres, made for Charles Scott, September 10, 1800. Survey 4192, of sixty acres, made for Duncan McArthur, March 29, 1805. Survey 4294, of 455 acres, made for Elias Langham, June 3, 1805. Survey 7861, of 100 acres, made for Matthew Hobson, November 9, 1813. Survey 4727, of 200 acres, made for John and William Messhimon, May 19, 1815. Survey 8506, of 255 acres, made for Cadwallader Wallace, September 2, 1815. Survey 6729, of 200 acres, for Angus L. Langham, April 30, 1817. Survey 9273, of 200 acres, made for Cadwallader Wallace, June 18, 1818. Some of the later surveys, beginning with the last, were as follows : Survey 15,062 of nineteen acres, made for and by Nathaniel Massie, February 15, 1847. Survey 15,056, of 811 acres, made for Neacma Wallace, November 4, 1846. Some number, of 160 acres, made for the same party, December 1, 1846. Survey 14,940, of 280 acres, made for Cadwallader Wallace, December 26, 1843. Survey 14,083, of 53 acres, made for William Robinson, September 4, 1834. Survey 12,943, of 157 acres, made for William Withers, Peter D. Mayo and John Yarborough, November 30, 1829. THE WALLACES Cadwallader Wallace, whose name appears so often in these surveys, came here in 1808, and engaged in the business of locating land, sometimes also dealing in flour and pork. Being a shrewd business man, he accumulated a large property. About the year 1817 he married Miss Ruth Bateman, of Chillicothe, by whom he had eleven children. He died in 1861, his widow surviving until 1879. Two sons, Sandusky and Neacma (the latter following his father's business of surveyor), and a daughter, Mrs. McGinnis, resided still later in Chillicothe. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 383 THE REYNOLDS AND HAYNES FAMILIES The Reynolds survey, 592, the first made in the township, was purchased mostly, if not entirely, by two brothers, John and William Patton, from Kentucky. It lies just south of the town, across Paint Creek. John Patton came on in 1796 and built a two-story log house, into which he moved his family the next year. In 1801 a stone addition, also of two stories, was made to this building. The log part stood sixty years, when it was torn down and replaced with brick. The house was long owned and occupied by James Patton, a grandson of John. William Patton moved to this township in 1799, and built a weather-boarded log house below that of his brother, and not far from the present Paint Street bridge. Dr. James D. Millwer, of Chillicothe, was a grandson of William Patton. John and Margaret Haynes came with their family from Charleston, Virginia, in 1808, and after living two years in Chillicothe settled on the Carrington survey in the western part of the township. Their son, John S. Haynes, lived on the old farm from I810 until his death, with the exception of fourteen years which he spent in Huntington Township. In June, 1827, he married Catherine Chamberlin, a native of New Jersey. His father was a blacksmith and he also worked at the trade for some years. At one time the father owned three mills on Paint Creek—one at the. Narrows, one near the hydraulic dam and one on the farm where the son afterward lived so long. OTHER PIONEERS OF THE TOWNSHIP In the same part of the township with Mr. Haynes also resided William B. McDill, who came into the Scioto Valley in 1796. Thither also came Joseph H. Plyley in 1808 and Thomas and James Steel in 1820. John Kirkpatrick arrived from Kentucky in the fall of 1797. He was the father of Dr. Samuel McAdow's wife. He came into possession of 300 acres of land three miles south of town, which had been purchased by his father-in-law, John Johnston. He died December 5, 1865, aged ninety-one. Samuel Ewing descended the Ohio River from Pittsburg in 1806. He was a saddle and harness maker and made the trade and business profitable in the new country. Mr. Ewing often took flour and wheat in exchange for his work or goods, and frequently took the produce himself to the New Orleans market. Exposure during these long river trips shortened his life and he died in 1857. Several of his children survived him and developed into business men. 384 - HISTORY OF ROSS' COUNTY In 1806 Hugh Ghormley came from Pennsylvania with his family, his son, Thomas, being then six years of age. The father bought 100 acres of land southeast of town from the Watt tract, or adjoining it. For several years he there carried on the business of carpet weaving, and then bought a farm near Paint Creek about four miles from Chillicothe. He returned to the city to reside, a few years before his death, which occurred in 1848. Thomas Ghormley was married, in 1835, to Miss Elizabeth Steele, of Chillicothe and they had several children. One of their sons died, during the Civil war, as, a Union prisoner at Andersonville, and another became a New York merchant. The father of this family was for thirty years engaged in business at Chillicothe, and also served several terms both as county treasurer and sheriff. The following names of early settlers in West Scioto Township, we find in Finley & Putnam's "Pioneer Record," and insert them here as a part of the early history of Ross County. William Rogers, Andrew and George Pontious, Peter Porter, James, Robert, Joseph, Jacob and William McDill, Michael, Thomas and Robert Adams, James McCrea, Joseph Clark, William Robinson, Enos and John Pursell, Jacob Grundy, Richard and John Acton, Thomas, Robert and William Brown, William Pool, James Danans, John and George Ricups, Daniel Dixon, Robert Worthington, Thomas Shields, James Prior, Hugh and James Cochran, Samuel Smith, Daniel, Augustus, James and Thomas Arthur. The last named lived to be nearly 100 years old. Nicholas Haynes, father of Henry and John Haynes, immigrated to West Scioto in 1808. The following items are from the same source : James Shane, a Dunkard preacher, who had two sons, Daniel and Abraham, occupied a part of the farm known as the Wood's tract. Hugh and Alonzo Carson, the Sullivan family and the Dunn family were also among the first settlers. E. Fullerton settled on the Zane tract east of the river. Isaac, Jacob, Andrew and Adam Creamer settled near General Greene, and all of his boys were in the War of 1812 under General Harrison. There were several of them and they were all large, strong, hearty men, well calculated to endure the hardships and privations of pioneer life. Many of their descendants now live in Fayette County. The following were among the colored pioneers of Scioto Township : Thomas Watson in 1796 ; Henry Evens, 1798 ; Nelson Piles, 1800 ; Samuel Nichol, 1808 ; Abram Nichol, 1809 ; Peter James, 1812 ; Henry Hill, 1813 ; John Fidler and his son of the same name, in 1814. The colored people of Chillicothe and vicinity have, from those early times to the present, for the most part, been honest, industrious and useful citizens. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 385 NATURES INDUSTRIES Scioto Township has little to show, outside of Chillicothe, in the line of manufactures, several small flour mills virtually constituting the sum total. When it comes to Nature's products, the story is full of life. Corn and wheat, hogs and cattle flourish upon its soil. With the decline of pork packing in Chillicothe, the raising of swine has not shown such progress as the development of other live stock. For the past half a century considerable attention has been given to the raising of fruit, especially in the hilly districts overlooking the Scioto Valley. From 1860 to 1870 a number of commercial orchards were planted in Scioto, Springfield, Huntington, Twin and Union townships, which proved to be paying investments. Gen. S. H. Hurst, one of the largest planters, had an orchard of 32,000 peach, plum and apple trees covering 200 acres, just over the Scioto Township line in Union, but the early frosts of the fall and the freeze-ups of the spring proved trying to fruit growers. Quite a number specialized in grapes with better success. Dr. D. H. Scott, of Scioto Township was of the number. L. Meggenhofen also had a productive vineyard in that township. H. J. Bailey planted a large orchard to apples, peaches, grapes and berries; Paul Martzluff and Joseph Plyley, peaches, and E. Lockwood and W. Brown, peaches and berries. There are still quite a number of good orchards in Scioto Township and the adjoining sections. Vol. I-25 CHAPTER XIV CONCORD TOWNSHIP AND FRANKFORT BIRD 'S-EYE VIEW OF THE TOWNSHIP-OLD CHILLICOTHE OF THE SHAWNEES-ONLY BREAK WITH THE SHAWNEES-POPEJOY PLACE AND THE INDIAN QUEEN-FIRST MILL AND GENERAL STORE -SETTLERS PREVIOUS TO 1812—FRANKFORT VILLAGE-ITS SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC LIBRARY-MUNICIPAL LIGHT AND WATER PLANTS-THE BAPTISTS FORMED FIRST CHURCH-THE METHODIST CHURCHES- PRESBYTERIAN ORGANIZATIONS-THE CATHOLICS -SECRET AND BENEVOLENT LODGES-INDUSTRIES, FINANCES AND THE SUN. On the l0th of May, 1803, in accordance with the legislative act passed in the preceding month, Reuben Abrams, William Patten and Felix Renick, associate judges of Ross County, met at Chillicothe to define the boundaries of the townships and regulate other matters. They established Concord Township as follows : "Beginning at the mouth of Lower Twin creek, thence running up the same to its source ; thence north, forty-five degrees west, to intersect the road leading from Chillicothe to Greenfield ; thence westwardly, with said road, to the dividing ridge between the main Paint creek and the Rattlesnake fork of Paint creek ; thence, north, to Deer creek; thence, down Deer creek, to the northern boundary of Union township ; thence, with the lines of said township to the place of beginning." From this large territory have been taken, at the dates named, the following portions : July 7, 1804, a part of Deerfield Township ; February 20, 1805, a part of Twin Township ; August 10, 1807, a part of Buckskin Township ; and March 9, 1808, the whole of Paint Township, leaving Concord vitually in its present shape. It is stated that most of the early elections until Oldtown (Frankfort) was laid out in 1816 were held at the house of John Bush, the pioneer miller and merchant. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE TOWNSHIP Concord Township, which lies in the northeastern corner of Ross County, is fourteen miles from east to west and about twelve from - 386 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 387 north to south. Its area is therefore the largest in. Ross County. Through its heart flows the north fork of Paint Creek, and back from that stream on either hand stretches a rich band of bottom lands, which, in places expands even beyond the limits of the township. Smaller streams cut across the main valley, along which is a succession of picturesque wooded belts. From the south there are Herrod 's Creek, Whetstone Creek and the Little North Fork ; the north, Waugh's Run or Hay Creek, Oldtown Run and Carey's Creek, besides many runs too small to be christened, yet of sufficient volume to furnish an ample water supply to the farms along their courses. On every side still remain tracts of woodland, which have survived over 100 years of white occupation, and have a double value from their influence as climatic agents and their direct practical utility as cover and pasture for hogs and other stock. Oak is the most common wood, while hickory, maple, walnut and ash are also abundant. Though particular attention has been given to the North Fork Valley, it must not be inferred that, beyond its borders there is any lack of beauty of surface or richness of soil. Leaving the bottom lands and going either north or south an upland region is crossed, watered by such streams as the Main Paint and Deer creeks. The predominating soil of the township is a dark loam in the bottom lands and a lighter soil, both in color and texture, in the higher lands. OLD CHILLICOTHE OF THE SHAWNEES It was within Concord Township, on the present site of Frankfort, that the Shawnees established one of their Chillicothes, or 388 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY towns. It was called Old Chillicothe, or Oldtown, and the Shawnees considered it not a temporary settlement, but a permanent dwelling place or city of refuge. By virtue of its remote position and construction, it was an important fortified town and served both as a base of supplies and a prison for white captives. The site of the town was immediately on the north fork of Paint Creek, centering about the spot occupied by the Old Dayton and Southeastern Railroad Depot. In a field between the railroad and the creek was a cemetery, from which the plow even today occasionally turns up a skull, or some weapon of stone—relics of battles fought and lives lived by the Shawnees of that region. Much of romance has attached to the history of the old town, and naturally some confusion has resulted from stories published inconsiderately, and without sufficient evidence of their truth. One of these, quite generally believed, is that Daniel Boone was held a prisoner at Old Chillicothe in 1773, and after his escape, in 1778, organized an expedition, and, proceeding to the Paint Valley, destroyed the town in retaliation. This story is untrue in its relation to Oldtown. Daniel Boone was taken prisoner, was confined by, and did escape from the Indians at about that date, and also proceeded to and attacked their village, but it was at the Miami, and not the Old Chillicothe, of Paint Creek. One of the first authoritative recorded statements as to the old town, is that in 1774 the Indians massed there and marched out to fight the memorable battle of Point Pleasant. In 1787 Indian attacks upon the Kentucky frontier had become. so bold and frequent that decisive measures were deemed necessary to check them. An expedition was organized by Simon Kenton, moved under his guidance and the command of Colonel Todd, from Kenton 's Station, Kentucky, to the vicinity of Old Chillicothe, and attacked its people, who fled to the dense forest, leaving their village and its contents to the mercy of their enemies. The whites destroyed the corn-fields, and much of the other property thus deserted and then returned to their homes. It is highly probable that Daniel Boone, in his expeditions through the wilderness, was more than once at or near Old Chillicothe ; he may even have been with Kenton when the town was attacked, but all this is, and must remain a matter of conjecture. In 1793 Gen. Nathaniel Massie, in the interest of the State and the Continental army lines of Virginia, formed an expedition for the purpose of surveying that portion of the Virginia Military District lying along the Scioto and Paint valleys, and, in company with Duncan McArthur and about thirty others, penetrated, in that year, as far as Old Chillicothe, pushing the work of the survey in the face of incalculable hardship and danger. Finding the attitude of the Indians at Old Chillicothe to be so menacing as to make an HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 389 advance extremely hazardous, the work was temporarily abandoned at that point, and a return to the settlements safely effected. In March, 1795, Massie organized an expedition, proceeded to the Rock and Rattlesnake forks of Point Creek, there crossed to Old Chillicothe, and continued the suspended work from that point. It was during this second expedition that the party suffered the terrible hardships so graphically described by McDonald, one of their number, and the biographer of Massie and McArthur. His words are as follows : "The snow continued to fall and drift for two days and nights; and when it ceased the ground was covered between two and three feet deep. The camp was on the ground, at this time the farm of Colonel Adam Mallow, four miles above Oldtown (or Frankfort, as it is now called). When it ceased snowing the weather became warm, and a soft rain fell for a time. Suddenly it became intensely cold, accompanied by a frost which soon formed a crust on the snow, which had previously been softened by the rain. The snow, although somewhat settled by the rain, was at least two feet deep, with a crust that would bear about half the weight of a man. This was the deepest snow I ever saw in the western country. The turkeys and other small game could run on the crust of snow, which disabled the hunters from pursuing and killing them, and, as the party had no provisions with them, the doleful prospects of death by starvation stared them in the face. "This tour was subsequently called the 'starving tour,' and the remnant of those who are on this side of the grave, yet remember with horror their situation at that time. The prudence previously exercised of sleeping away from the fires was not attended to. The party lay around the fires by day and night, anxiously praying for a change in the weather. Some of the strongest and most spirited of the party made ineffectual attempts to kill game. Among these hunters Gen. Duncan McArthur, of Fruit Hill, near Chillicothe, and William Leedom, of Adams county, were conspicuous. On the third day of the storm they killed two turkeys. These were divided into twenty-eight shares or parts and given to each man. This little food seemed only to sharpen their appetities. Not a particle of the turkeys was left. The heads, feet and entrails were devoured, as if most savory food. "The fourth morning of the continuance of the snow, Massie, with his party, turned their faces homeward. The strongest and most hardy of the men were placed in front to break through the snow. This was a fatiguing and laborious business, and was performed, alternately, by the most spirited and strongest of the party. They thus proceeded on their heavy and disconsolate march the whole day, and at night reached the Rattlesnake fork. In the course of the day the sun shone through the clouds for the first time 390 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY since the storm commenced, and, by its warmth, softened the crust on the snow. As the party descended the sloping ground toward the banks of Paint creek, they came to a flock of turkeys and killed several. These were cooked and equally divided among the men. That night the party lay by their fires without guards ; and, as the night was warm, the snow gradually melted. Early next morning the entire party turned out to hunt, and killed a number of turkeys, some deer, and a bear. When these were brought to camp a feast ensued, which was enjoyed with a zest and relish that can be properly appreciated only by those who have been placed in a similar situation. "The writer of this narrative accompanied General Massie on this tour, and had previously passed through many trying and distressing scenes, but the hardships and privations of that tour were the most trying to the firmness, resolution and fortitude of men he ever saw or experienced." The camp was situated on the north bank of the north fork of Paint Creek, and about 200 yards west of the railroad bridge. The survey having been completed to that point, the camp was abandoned, and the intrepid surveyors returned to their homes. With the incidents of this expedition, the aboriginal history of Concord may be said to end. Settlers followed at once in the footsteps of the surveyors, and the location of land warrants began in earnest. Chillicothe was laid out and settled in the year 1796 and Old Chillicothe was soon afterward deserted by the Indians. Their camps remained in the neighborhood ; but, in pursuit of game and immunity from white intrusion, they gradually moved westward. ONLY BREAK WITH THE SHAWNEES The only break in the kindly relations between the red men and the white in Concord Township occurred in 1803 and the incidents which occasioned it centered around the assassination of Capt. Thomas Herrod, the early settler and politician. Herrod 's cabin was on the creek which bears his name. One day, in the spring of 1803, while working in a field near what was afterward the Pike Bridge, he was shot by some one lurking, in the woods and died soon after assistance reached him. Before he expired he was only able to speak the one word "Indians." Naturally, the event threw the community into wild excitement and considerable consternation. An alarm was at once raised, the murder being naturally charged upon the Indians, and the settlers deserted their farms and fled to the vicinity of Oldtown for protection from the expected attack. Many took refuge at the house of James Shepherd, near Roxabel, and every strong building in the HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 391 neighborhood was made a temporary block-house. While the settlers were thus collected, occurred the second tragedy referred to. One morning Nimrod Wolf and his son, Jonathan, engaged the services of one Williams and another man to go with them to their farm, and look after their stock. While the four were riding through what is now called Wolf's Prairie, they saw walking toward them Waw-wila-way, a Shawnee chief of great bravery, who from the first had been a firm friend of the whites. Approaching him, a friendly conversation ensued. The chief asked after the health of their various families, and finally, when Wolf made a proposition to exchange guns, without any hesitation delivered his rifle into the white man's hands. Wolf emptied the priming from the pan and, saying that he had concluded not to trade, returned the gun. Upon hearing of the death of Captain Herrod the Indian expressed surprise and sorrow, and when Wolf said that it was supposed that some of his people did the deed, and that they were on the war path, he indignantly denied it and reasserted their friendship for the whites. After this they separated and, when the chief had gone 'a few paces, the men dismounted, sheltered themselves behind their horses, and Wolf, with deliberate aim, shot the retreating Indian in the back. Williams' horse was restive and, by a plunge, exposed the body of his master, when Waw-wil-a-way, although mortally wounded, turned and, firing his rifle, shot Williams fatally, then, approaching, knocked the fourth man senseless with his clubbed gun, grappled with Wolf, and stabbed him seriously with his knife. Wolf returned the thrust, and, walking a few steps away, the chief fell dead, the victim of as cowardly and treacherous a murder as any in the bloody annals of those bloody times. Time has radically changed the popular opinion on the object. Herrod was engaged in a bitter political canvass, in which the contestants regarded their political opponents as personal enemies. The Indians had been uniformly friendly. Herrod had no quarrel with any of them ; with every opportunity for a general massacre of the whites, both before Herrod's death and after the murder of the chief, they never made a hostile demonstration. These facts, together with the perfect confidence of Waw-wil-a-way in surrendering his gun, and the fact that the indignation of the Indians at his murder was limited to Wolf, all repel the idea that the Shawnees were responsible for Herrod's death. The sober second thought of the people had led them to charge Herrod's murder upon some personal enemy, and to condemn Wolf's act as a base and cowardly assassination. Wolf, after an enforced stay in Kentucky, returned and purchased his life from the sons of his victim, by paying an indemnity. 392 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY POPEJOY'S PLACE AND THE INDIAN QUEEN Although it is not possible to name the first settler in Concord Township with certainty, the first of the pioneers recorded is one Popejoy who, as early as 1796; kept a small tavern north of Old-town. His place was small and turbulent and the reputable travelers and settlers insisted upon a more respectable house of entertainment. In 1797, therefore, came Hendrick Roseboom, and about 1800, in partnership with Lemuel Devault, built the tavern which bore the imposing and romantic sign of The Indian Queen. After being kept for many years by its founders, Andrew Ten Eyck and others, it was reoccupied as a residence by a later generation of the Roseboom family. FIRST MILL AND GENERAL STORE It is probable that before the erection of any mill in Concord, the people were obliged to go to Haddy 's or Mussleman's Mill, in Union Township. In 1799, John and Michael Bush came from Virginia, and as soon as possible erected a mill and distillery, near where the Union Church now stands. The water-power proving insufficient, they soon made a new race and removed the mill to a point opposite the present Austin railroad station. This was both a grist and sawmill, and in connection with it, the Bush's had a general store for many years. This was probably the first mill in the present township. Shortly after the building of the Bush mill, Jacob Dehart HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 393 built a mill on an island in the North Fork. This was afterward known as Haynes' Mill, and was owned and operated by William M. Haynes. John McNeil and Isaac Pancake established a general store in 1808, on the Tilgham Porter place, which was the earliest store in Concord. SETTLERS WHO CAME PREVIOUS TO 1812 John McNeil, in 1798, settled on what is now the Tilghman Porter farm, near the depot in Frankfort. Samuel and Joseph Briggs came from Virginia in 1798, purchased land and settled on the north fork, near the mouth of Her-rod's Creek. James and Michael Bush came in 1799, and, settling near the home of the Briggs family, built one of the first mills in the county. Stephen and Nathan Corey came from Virginia between 1797 and 1800, bought land, and settled about a mile and a half east of Frankfort. Samuel Wiley, R. Stewart, J. Sutherland and Francis Wells, father of Felix Wells, were early settlers about Oldtown, as were also Frederick Berley, a noted Indian spy, and one Frederick Bray. Andrew Cochran was from Pennsylvania, settling in 1802. Luke Welkins came from Maryland 'in 1815, and located near Andrew Cochran. Nimrod Wolf, Joseph Walls, Samuel and Martin Powers, and James Shepard were among the settlers of the first ten years. Jacob Fisher came in 1800. Adam Mallow, Sr., and his son Adam, were from Virginia in 1806, and settled near Austin Station. Colonel Hegler came from Virginia in 1806, and settled on Herrod's Creek. Peter Putnam arrived in 1809, and made his home three miles north of Frankfort. Thomas Herrod, William Stagg, Fletcher Goldsberry, Isaac Pancake, Samuel Day, and the Jamesons were among the early settlers. Martin Peterson migrated from Virginia in 1810, and built a cabin near Austin Station. Morris and William Latta came to Concord early in the century, and gave Lattaville its name. James Bridwell, of Loudoun County, Virginia, made a permanent settlement in Concord Township before the War of 1812, and had visited Chillicothe as early as 1808. He lived there until his death in 1853, and was a constable as early as 1828. He was born in 1782, and married Sophia Etcher. They had ten children. All of these pioneers of Concord Township left descendants who 394 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY developed into men and women of respectability and, in some instances of prominence. FRANKFORT VILLAGE Frankfort is a neat little village of about 800 people, twelve miles northwest of Chillicothe, on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad. It is a century old this year (1916), although it by no means looks its age. It was laid out by John McNeil, under the name of Oldtown, in 1816, upon a portion of his farm. When the town was incorporated as a village in 1827, its name was changed to Frankfort ; at the same time the postoffice, which had been established early in the nineteenth century, became Frankfort. The first election was held in April, 1827, when William Staggs was chosen mayor and John M. Wisehart, clerk. ITS SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC LIBRARY The village and the township had the usual struggles to provide schools for the children. In the earlier days such settlers as John McNally, Massie Mickie and Charles Foster, conducted subscription schools and in 1847 a building was erected in the village for the use of an academy. This was afterward occupied as the Frankfort graded school. In 1913 a handsome brown brick structure was erected at a cost of $32,000, since which the village and township boards have merged the two districts into a joint high school. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 395 MUNICIPAL LIGHT AND WATER PLANTS Both the light and water systems of Frankfort are owned and operated by the municipality. The electric light plant was installed in 1897, although it has been much improved since that year. The water was originally supplied by the O. M. Junk Company, of Chillicothe, the first works being built in 1906. In December, 1912, the village, under the direct superintendence of its board of public affairs, took over the system, and in December, 1914, a reservoir with a capacity of 60,000 gallons was completed. The water supply is derived from wells, one of which is 107 feet deep, and the system, which also provides fire-protection as well as distribution, is known as the direct pressure. The approximate value of the waterworks is $20,000 and of the electric light plant, $10,000. Frankfort also has a good public library, partly supported by the county, a neat and convenient building for which was erected in 1914. It is another proof of the progress of the village and an indication that much has been accomplished in the way of public improvements—although the village is a century old. THE BAPTISTS FORMED FIRST CHURCH While Ohio was still a territory, visiting clergymen and lay preachers of various denominations were holding services at the North Fork Settlement established on the site of the old Indian Chillicothe. As early as 1800 the Baptists of the neighborhood organized a society and, under the leadership of Peter Sperry and Nathan Corey, erected a log meeting house about a mile east of town. The church was surrounded by a cemetery, which, for years, was known as the Baptist cemetery. In 1827 the Baptists erected a brick house of worship at Frankfort, which they occupied until 1860. At that time they transferred their church to Roxabell. THE METHODIST CHURCHES At present the Baptists are unrepresented by an organization at Frankfort, but the Presbyterians and Methodists, who established churches in 1803 and 1805, respectively, are still active. When the first Methodist services were held, Concord Township formed a part of the Deer Creek Circuit, embracing Frankfort, Clarksburg, Bourneville and Salem, and reaching nearly to Chillicothe. The meetings were at first held at the house of James Shepard and later in John McNeil's cabin. The first Methodist Church in Frankfort was a log building erected sometime between the years 1812 and 1816. An edifice of 396 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY brick was built in 1832. The present Concord Circuit was organized in 1840, and embraces three appointments outside of the village. A third structure to accommodate its increasing membership was erected at Frankfort in 1853, and in 1895 that was replaced by the present large and tasteful church. The membership has reached about 360. The successive pastors since Frankfort became the head of the circuit in 1840 have been as follows : Revs. Z. Wharton, A. Meharry, William Sutton, Professor Nelson, James Armstrong, Edward Estelle, Joseph Brown, F. Phillips, Joseph Morris, John Steele, William McClintock, I. Drake, David Smith, William Mullenix, W. P. Cherrington, I. B. Broadwick, Edward Estelle, John Stewart, Jacob Martin, J. M. Weir, Joseph Morris, U. L. Jones, Thomas Hall, S. M. Bright, Z. Wharton, W. H. Gibbons, W. P. McLaughlin, Thomas G. Wakefield, William T. Jones, Isaac Mackey, L. C. Brooks, Frank Gillilan, Alonzo Binkley, F. M. Evans, S. A. Crosby, A. R. Henderson, P. W. Drum, T. L. Haas, W. L. Hickey and E. E. Stone. There is also an African Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Rev. James Bridges is pastor. PRESBYTERIAN ORGANIZATIONS The Presbyterians of Concord Township have had a number of organizations. The first, known as the Concord Church or congregation, was organized June 23, 1805, William Anderson and John McLean being chosen elders. In October of the same year, Rev. Robert B. Dobbins was installed as its pastor, in which position he continued until April 7, 1808. In 1810 Rev. James Dickey assumed the pastorate, dividing his labors between Concord, Buckskin (now Salem) and Pisgah churches, until 1831, when he ceased to preach at Concord. Mr. Dickey was a native of Virginia, but was reared and educated in Kentucky. In the fall of 1831 Rev. William Gage began preaching, and was installed as pastor in June, 1832. He continued in the position until his death in July, 1863. He was a graduate of Amherst College, and of Andover Theological Seminary, and was much respected and loved by his people. In 1864 the Rev. Robert C. Galbraith, Jr., succeeded Mr. Gage, and remained until May 2, 1871. From that time the church had no settled pastor, but its pulpit was supplied by the Revs. Heber Gill and Hugh Guthrie. The Concord and the Frankfort churches are now consolidated. A Presbyterian church was organized in Frankfort in 1836, by the late Robert Stewart and Robert C. Galbraith, Sr., and a building erected chiefly at their own cost, nearly completed. At this point the work was delayed for several years. Then a temporary pulpit was put in the unfinished building, it was practically fur- HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 397 nished, and for a long time services were irregularly held there by various clergymen of the denomination. This movement after a time died out, and the church was sold. In 1850 Rev. John Rankin organized, at Frankfort, a church in connection with the "Free Presbyterian Synod of the United States," with but nine members. William Ross was elected ruling elder, and Rev. A. L. Rankin, son of the founder, was the first pastor. In 1863 or 1864 the church changed its relation and went with the Presytery, connecting itself with the New School Presbytery of Ripley, where it remained until the fusion of the two schools brought it into the Presbytery of Chillicothe. Rev. Robert C. Galbraith, Jr., held the pastorate from 1871 until 1880, when he was called to the Third Church of Chillicothe. The present pastor of the Frankfort Church is Rev. A. S. Kaye, who also administers to the old Concord Congregation. THE CATHOLICS The Catholics commenced to hold services regularly at Frankfort in 1837, Father Juncker and others supplying the pulpit from Chillicothe. In 1843 the local charge was placed under the control of the Jesuits, and afterward it was served by priests of other orders. The earlier services were conducted at the house of John McNally, who erected a small church building in 1871. At present the Catholics at Frankfort have no settled pastor, but are supplied from near-by points. SECRET AND BENEVOLENT LODGES Frankfort has a number of secret and benevolent lodges, the strongest being the Masonic, Knights of Pythias, Red Men and Modern Woodmen of America. Frankfort Lodge No. 309, Free and Accepted Masons, was organized under dispensation July 22, 1858, and its charter granted October 20, 1859. The charter members were John M. Wisehart, who had been inducted into the order by the Scioto Lodge No. 6, of Chillicothe ; Henry Wiley, Robert Galbraith, Samuel Littler, Isaac Stookey, Thomas Caskey, John W. Hall, John Plyley, William D. Vincent and David Miller. The first officers who were installed by Scioto Lodge No. 6 were as follows : John M. Wisehart, W. M. ; Henry Wiley, S. W. ; William D. Vincent, J. W. ; Samuel Littler, treasurer ; Robert Galbraith, secretary ; Isaac Stookey, S. D. ; Thomas A. Caskey, J. D. ; John W. Hall, tyler. The Masonic Hall with the original charter of Frankfort Lodge No. 239 was burned October 10, 1896, and a new charter granted on the 22d of the same month. The new hall was dedicated 398 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY January 25, 1897. The present lodge numbers over 100 members and its officers in the spring of 1916 were : L. M. Tinker, W. M. ; Reed L. Corey, S. W. ; Fred Putnam, J. W. ; W. J. Price, treasurer; John R. Entrekin, secretary ; Horace L. Pratt, S. D. ; J. B. Rose-boom, J. D. ; J. B. Karney, tyler. Frankfort Lodge No. 326, Knights of Pythias, was instituted in 1889, and the Modern Woodmen of America, organized in 1896. The Frankfort Red Men, Tribe No. 196, formed their local organization in 1901. It has forty members with the following officers : Marion Shepherd, Sachem ; S. A. McNeill, Sr. S. ; Floyd Thomas, Jr. S. ; I. N. Hickle, K. of W. ; B. A. S. Staggs, C. of R. INDUSTRIES, FINANCES AND THE SUN Frankfort is the banking, trading and industrial center for quite an area. It has two banks, the Merchants and Farmers and the Commercial, the former having been established since about 1880. It is unincorporated with S. D. Blue, president, and D. L. Sutherland, cashier. There is a- branch of the Sears & Nichols canning factory at Frankfort ; Elias Hutton is the owner and operator of flour mills and a grain elevator ; J. W. Ott and J. B. Gordon, proprietors of a planing mill, as well as an extensive lumber, coal and grain business, and John B. Roseboom is a manufacturer of cement blocks. And as a climax, the industries, finances and industries of the village are spread abroad in a fair light by the Frankfort Sun, a weekly newspaper founded in 1884 and owned and edited by George L. Robinson. CHAPTER XV PAXTON TOWNSHIP AND BAINBRIDGE PICTURESQUE AND FERTILE-PAPER TOWN OF NEW AMSTERDAM-TWO HISTORIC SKIRMISHES WITH THE SHAWNEES-NATHAN REEVES AND HIS LANDS-MASSIE 'S MANSION IN THE WILDERNESS -THE TOWNSHIP UNDER TERRITORY AND STATE-MASSIE FOUNDS BAINBRIDGE-MERCHANTS AND BANKERS-THE VILLAGE OF TODAY-MASONS AND ODD FELLOWS-THE METHODISTS-THE PRESBYTERIANS. Paxton Township has as many points of general interest as any political division of Ross County. Its scenery is striking and varied ; it is a fertile country, agriculturally and horticulturally ; on its soil were fought two of the few engagements between the red men and the white within the limits of Ross County ; on the shores of Paint Creek, also within the township bounds, was reared, by the great and rugged Massie, that luxurious haven in the wilderness which his queenly wife also made famous among the early generation of Ohio pioneers ; early in his career the general also founded Bainbridge, the chief village of the township and one of the most prosperous in the county, and, finally, for many years the remains of the historic host and hostess rested side by side on the hillside west of their old homestead. PICTURESQUE AND FERTILE The romantic and historic Valley of Paint Creek, which cuts through a broad northeastern section and forms about one-half its northern boundary, is the striking natural feature of the township. Bold hills form its boundaries on every side, checkered with woodland, meadow and cultivated fields of corn and wheat and vegetables, many of the elevations being covered with orchards of apples, plums and other fruits ; from the base of these hills to the banks of main Paint Creek, and again from the creek to the foot of sister hills beyond, stretch the broad bottom lands for which the valley is famous. No soil is more fertile by nature, slower to deteriorate with use, or more ready to rally from the exhaustion of prolonged cultivation, than the alluvial land along the channel of - 399 -