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82 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - PICTURE OF COURTHOUSE AND PUBLIC SQUARE HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 83 CHAPTER VI AS A BODY POLITIC GEN. JOHN STARK-THE CREATIVE ACT-LOCATION OF OLD STARK COUNTY -FIXING THE COUNTY SEAT-NIMISHILLENTOWN-OSNABURG AND CANTON, REAL RIVALS-FINALLY UNANIMOUS FOR CANTON-THE FIVE ORIGINAL TOWNSHIPS- FIRST TERM OF COMMON PLEAS COURT-FIRST TAXES LEVIED-PIONEER COUNTY OFFICERS-WAYNE COUNTY BREAKING OFF-ROADS FIRST OPENED-TUSCARAWAS TOWNSHIP ORGANIZED -EARLY FINANCES-BETTER ACCOMMODATIONS-GREEN TOWNSHIP FORMED-PERRY TOWNSHIP-MORE TAXES-BUILDING OF THE FIRST COURTHOUSE-BUSY PERIOD OF TOWNSHIP-MAKING—SECOND JAIL COMPLETED- THE OLD COURTHOUSE-THE FIRST COUNTY BUILDING- PASSING OF THE LOG JAIL-COURTHOUSE REMODELED-LARGER COUNTY BUILDING-THE INVASION OF CARROLL COUNTY-ABSORPTIONS BY SUMMIT COUNTY-VOTING RAILROAD AID-THE SECOND COURTHOUSE -THE PRESENT COURTHOUSE AND JAIL- INSTITUTIONS FOR THE UN- FORT UNATE-T HE COUNTY INFIRMARY-THE STARK COUNTY WORKHOUSE-THE MASSILLON STATE HOSPITAL-THE FAIRMOUNT CHILDREN 'S HOME-POPULAR EDUCATION 1N THE COUNTY-PIONEER SCHOOLS- DEVELOPMENT OF FREE GRADED PUBLIC SCHOOLS-FIRST FREE GRADED PUBLIC SCHOOL IN STARK COUNTY-SCHOOL STATISTICS OF THE LATE '70S-THE FIGURES FOR 1915—POPULATION FOR A CENTURY-PROPERTY VALUATION AND TAXATION. Stark County assumed a separate body and its present name by the creative act of the State Legislature which went into effect February 13, 1808, and was reduced to its present area and form by the erection of Carroll County in 1833 and that of Summit County in 1840. GEN. JOHN STARK The county is named after Gen. John Stark, of Revolutionary fame, who, at the time of its organization, was more than eighty years of age, a revered veteran living quietly on his farm at Manchester, on the New Hampshire banks of the Merrimac. As he lived on his beloved estate to the advanced age of ninety-five years, although he never placed foot 84 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY on the soil of the county to which he gave his name, he saw it well advanced in all that does credit to American communities. When General Stark was eighty-nine years old Congress granted him a pension of $60 a month, which was more than enough to maintain him in his simple tastes and habits. At his death in 1822, with the exception of Gen. Thomas Sumter, he was the last general of the Revolutionary army. He was buried on his own grounds at Manchester, where, in 1829, a simple granite shaft was placed to mark his grave. In 1876 the citizens of Manchester planted memorial trees around it, while in August, 1887, the corner-stone was laid at Bennington, Vermont, of the great obelisk of limestone, 300 feet in height, to commemorate his historic victory which did not result in the widowhood of Molly Stark. The county could not be named after a braver or more honest man than the hero of Bunker Hill and Bennington. THE CREATIVE ACT The act by which the original Stark County came into being reads as follows : "Section 1—Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the following tract of country be and the same is hereby erected into a separate county by the name of Stark, viz : Beginning on the southern boundary of the Connecticut Reserve, at the northwest corner of township number nineteen in the sixth range ; thence running south between the fifth and sixth ranges to the southeast corner of the fifteenth township of said sixth range ; thence west with the township line until it intersects the eastern boundary line of the United States military district ; thence, with the said eastern boundary line north to the northeast corner of the tenth township, in the first range of said military district ; thence west with the township lines until they intersect the Indian boundary line ; thence with said Indian boundary line to the northwest corner of fractional township number ten of the tenth range in the New Purchase south of the Connecticut Reserve ; thence north with the line running between the tenth and eleventh ranges to the northwest corner of township number two of the tenth range ; thence east with the southern boundary line of the Connecticut Reserve to the place of beginning. "Section 2-That the said county of Stark shall, from and after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and nine, be and the same is hereby declared to be a distinct and separate county, and entitled to all the rights and privileges appertaining to the same : Provided, That all actions and suits which may be pending in the county of Columbiana on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and nine, HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 85 shall be prosecuted and carried to final judgment and execution, and all taxes, fines and forfeitures, which shall be then due, shall be collected in the same manner as if this act had not passed. "Section 3—That all that tract of country lying west of the tenth range and east of the sixteen range of the said New Purchase, south of the Connecticut Reserve and north of the United States Military District, shall be a separate and distinct county by the name of Wayne ; but, with the county of Stark shall be attached to and made a part of Columbiana county, until the said county of Stark shall be organized, and shall thereafter be and remain a part of said county of Stark until otherwise directed by law. "Section 4—That there shall be appointed by a joint resolution of both houses of the present General Assembly, three commissioners to fix the seat of justice in the said county of Stark, agreeable to the act establishing seats of justice, who shall make report of their proceedings to the Court of Common Pleas of Columbiana county, and who shall be governed by the provisions of the aforesaid act. "Section 5—That the commissioners aforesaid shall be paid for their services out of the treasury of Columbiana county. "This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the passage thereof. "'PHILEMON BEECHER, "Speaker of the House of Representatives. THOMAS KIRKER, "Speaker of the Senate. "February 13, 1808." LOCATION OF OLD STARK COUNTY In tracing the boundaries of old Stark County, it must be remembered that the southern boundary of the Connecticut Reserve was the forty-first degree of latitude; that the United States Military District mentioned was bounded north by the Greenville treaty line, called the Indian boundary in the act, north of which was all of Stark County east of the Tuscarawas River. Much of Central Ohio, including about 4,000 square miles and a large portion of the old counties of Tuscarawas, Guernsey; Muskingum, Coshocton, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Franklin and Delaware, was included in the Military Lands, which were bounded as follows: Beginning at the northwest corner of range 7, thence south fifty miles, thence west to the Scioto River, up said river to the Greenville treaty line, thence northeasterly with said line to old Fort Laurens, a short distance south of the present northern boundary of Tuscarawas 86 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY County, and thence due east to the place of beginning. It will thus be seen that Stark County, as created in 1808, lay between the Western Reserve and the United States Military District, the latter having been appropriated in 1796 to meet the claims of Revolutionary soldiers and officers against the General Government. FIXING THE COUNTY SEAT Three commissioners were appointed by the State Legislature to fix the county seat, under the provisions of the Creative Act, but the names of only two appear in the Columbiana County records, those of Elijah Wadsworth and Eli Baldwin. NIMISHILLENTOWN Originally—that is, before the county was created—there were three competitors for the seat of justice of an anticipated county. Nimishillentown, as noted, was laid out on the Thomas Road in the early part of 1805. Its site, level and attractive, was on the southeast quarter of section 28, in the township by that name, and its proprietors were Penticost and Scott, Philadelphia land speculators and reputed lawyers. Under their coaching, Daniel L. McClure, the surveyor, made a charming plat of the town, which was exhibited to all prospectors as the sure-enough seat of justice whenever the state legislators should say the word for the county's appearance. It was laid off in rectangular form, with wide streets and a large square in the center of the plat for the courthouse and jail ; also other paper lots generously appropriated for churches and schools. And the owners of the town site really erected a large story and a half house, built of hewn logs and covered with clapboards, fastened with nails made by a New Lisbon blacksmith. The plat and the clapboard cabin were about all that Nimishillentown ever amounted to, and in the summer of 1806 its proprietors abandoned it, after it became evident that Osnaburg and Canton were the real rivals for the honor. OSNABURG AND CANTON, REAL RIVALS Osnaburg was platted several months before Canton by James Lee-per, a native of Washington County, Pennsylvania, probably in the early summer of 1805. It was about five miles east of Canton, the latter being nearer the center of the county. When Canton was laid out by the shrewd and reputable Bezaleel Wells, in the fall of 1805, Osnaburg HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 87 already had several houses. Mr. Leeper, the proprietor, built a log cabin on his town site, started a tavern and when Canton was surveyed soon afterward commenced a fierce campaign against its upholders. Everybody who came into the country with a view to settle was given to understand by the Osnaburg people that the site of Canton, between two streams and bordered with swamps, was a sure breeder of fever and ague ; that no water for domestic purposes could be obtained, that the town stood in the path of the bleak western winds; that there was neither timber nor stone with which to build within reasonable distance, and that the adjoining western lands were barren and would never be otherwise. There was a shadow of truth in these representations, and if put forth by a man of better character than Leeper might have made Canton's fight more strenuous. But Canton's geographical position was in her favor and the town was backed by such men as Mr. Wells, James L. Leonard, the surveyor, and others of like character, with the inevitable result that, despite some drawbacks, Canton was the favorite when the county was finally organized in 1808. FINALLY UNANIMOUS FOR CANTON When the locating commissioners came to actually interview the proprietors of the two rival towns, the scale soon tipped toward Canton. Leeper was quite a glib talker, without much character, while Wells was a man of few words, but of fine personal appearance, an ex- member of the convention which formed the first Ohio constitution, able and substantial, and, what was as much to the point—if not more— generous in his donations of town lots, in case the commissioners decided in favor of his town. The result was a unanimous vote for Canton ; as appears by the Columbiana County records, the commissioners who thus located the seat of justice of Stark County, were paid $39, or $13 apiece, for their services. THE FIVE ORIGINAL TOWNSHIPS The commissioners of Columbiana County then ordered an election, and on the 16th of March, 1809, the new Stark County Board, consisting of John Bower, James Latimer and John Nichols, met at the residence of James Campbell, of Canton, for the transaction of business. After they had appointed William Reynolds clerk of the board, they divided the county into five townships, or election districts, as follows : "Canton township (election to be held at the residence of Samuel Coulton, in Canton), beginning at the southeast corner of the ninth township in the eighth range ; thence north with the line between the 88 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY seventh and eighth ranges to the northeast corner of the tenth township in the said eighth range ; thence west with the township line to the west boundary of the county; thence south and east with the county line to the place of beginning. "Plain township (election to be held at the residence of George Harter), beginning at the northeast corner of the twelfth township in the eighth range ; thence south to the southeast corner of the eleventh township in the eighth range ; thence west with the township line to the west boundary of the county ; thence north and east with the county line to the place of beginning. "Nimishillen township (election to be held at the residence of Henry Loutzenheiser), to include the eighteenth and nineteenth townships in the sixth range, and the nineteenth and twentieth townships in the seventh range. "Osnaburg township (election to be held at the residence of William Naylor), to include the seventeenth township in the sixth range and the eighteenth township in the seventh range. "Sandy township (election at the residence of Isaac Van Meter), to include the fifteenth and sixteenth townships in the sixth range and the sixteenth and seventeenth townships in the seventh range." It was " further ordered that the clerk do ascertain of the associate judges of Stark County how many justices of the peace will be necessary in each of the townships of the county, and that he, having the certificate of said associate judges, do proceed to advertise an election in each of the said townships, to be held on the first Monday in April next (1809) for the election of the number of justices agreed on by the associate judges, and for all other necessary township officers." FIRST TERM OF COMMON PLEAS COURT The first organized judiciary was the Court of Common Pleas, which was authorized under the state constitution of 1802 and consisted of a president and two or more associates. The first term of that court in Stark County commenced on Tuesday, April 18, 1809, at the tavern of Philip Dewalt, Canton (sign of the Spread Eagle). Calvin Pease presided and his associates were Thomas Latimer, James Campbell and George Bair. The County of Stark was then in the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Thus Stark County was more and more assuming political and civil substance, and at the April meeting of the commissioners, when they considered its organization far enough advanced, they attached the HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 89 new County of Wayne to Canton Township as authorized by section 3 of the creative enactment. FIRST TAXES LEVIED Settlers had commenced to come in so rapidly that there was a general demand for better roads and bridges, as there was not to exceed half a dozen of both, and of a very inferior quality, in the entire county. But roads and bridges cost money, and the board therefore levied various taxes at this same April meeting of 1809, as follows: Taverns in Canton, a license of $9 per annum; in all other parts of the county, $5. Ferrymen were allowed these tolls : For footmen, 61/4 cents each; man and horse, 121A cents; team and loaded wagon, 50 cents; other loaded vehicles, 371/, cents; team and empty cart, sled or sleigh, 83/4 cents; cattle and horses, each, 61/4 cents; sheep and hogs, each, 2 cents. The following additional assessments were made by the commissioners in June, 1809: On all ordinary horses, 25 cents annually ; cattle, 10 cents; on all other taxable property, one-half per cent. For the scalps of wolves and panthers, a bounty of 50 cents was offered, provided the animals were under six years old ; if over that age, $1. The following year the bounty was doubled. PIONEER COUNTY OFFICERS James Campbell was appointed county treasurer at the April session of the board, and Joseph McGuigan, sheriff, giving acceptable bonds of $3,000 and $4,000, respectively. Not long after, John Sloane was appointed recorder. He subsequently moved to Wooster, Wayne County, was a colonel in the War of 1812, and served ten years in the national House of Representatives. WAYNE COUNTY BREAKING OFF In the meantime Wayne County was getting uneasy and ambitious to walk alone. It will be remembered that the old Wayne County of 1796 was the third county formed in the Northwest Territory and originally embraced portions of Western Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, and all of Michigan, including such widely separated towns as Ohio City, Chicago (Fort Dearborn), Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinaw. Wooster was laid out in 1808, soon after Canton became a land office, at which time there were no white inhabitants between its site and Lake Erie. 90 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY In September, 1809, the commissioners of Stark County ordered the County of Wayne to be detached from Canton Township, and to be organized as an independent township by the name of Killbuck. That name was derived from a noted Delaware chief, whose village was on the west side of Killbuck Creek about ten miles south of Wooster. Being given their freedom, the citizens of Wayne County were directed by the Stark County Board to assemble at the residence of Benjamin Miller, in Wooster, to elect the necessary township officers. That was the first step in the organization of the Wayne County of the present, of which Wooster became the seat of justice in 1811, and was taken in answer to the prayer of the citizens of that county for a separate body politic. ROADS FIRST OPENED Among the first uses to which the income of Stark County, in 1809-10, was applied, was the viewing of roads, with the idea of keeping the crude highways in some sort of repair, of improving them and opening new ones. When the county was organized there was only really one fairly good road. It was an improvement of the old eastern and western Indian trail, and was known both as the Thomas Road and the Steubenville & Bethlehem Road. The first highway ordered viewed by the Stark County Commissioners was a branch of the road named, and was to extend from Jacob Oswald's to the Town of Canton, thence toward the portage of the Tuscarawas River. The second road was to extend from the northeast corner of the county to Lexington and thence to Raleigh Day 's Mills and Canton. Afterward, an application was granted for a southern road extending from Canton to the confluence of the Tuscarawas River and Sandy Creek. TUSCARAWAS TOWNSHIP ORGANIZED It was in March, 1810, that the commissioners authorized the organization of Tuscarawas Township from those portions of Canton and Plain Township lying west of the river by that name. COUNTY HEADQUARTERS Sometime in that year, also, the sittings of the Common Pleas Court were transferred from Dewalt's Tavern to the Green Tree Inn, whose proprietor was Samuel W. Coulter, who, during the autumn of the previous year had displaced John Bower as one of the commissioners. The headquarters for the county were in the upper story of the frame HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 91 addition to Coulter's Tavern, corner of Market and Sixth streets. The cellar underneath the hotel was reserved as a jail. According to the official minutes, the judicial salary was $3 for each sitting of the court. EARLY FINANCES The first financial statement indicates that the tax measures passed in 1809 enabled the township collectors within the following year to realize $200, of which John Campbell, treasurer, paid over to his successor $48.55. At that time Thomas C. Shields was the county collector, under whom the first land tax was collected. BETTER ACCOMMODATIONS In December, 1811, the county board came to the conclusion that the court room in Coulter's Green Tree Tavern should be abandoned and better quarters occupied in George Stidger's new brick block on the east side of the public square. Mr. Stidger was one of Canton's most active and prominent citizens for twenty years preceding his death in 1826. He was a colonel in the War of 1812 and thereafter was generally known as General Stidger. The contract between the commissioners and Mr. Stidger read as follows : "Stidger is to give for the use of the county the south half of the upper story of said house, and to devote the same to the uses of a court room. The commissioners engage to put up in said house such accommodations as they think proper for the court, and to do it with as little injury as possible to the house, and to pay the said Stidger the sum of three dollars for each and every court that may sit in said house, except called courts for transacting administrative business." The board also rented the upper story of the house owned by Daniel Faron for jail purposes, the rent for the same being $1 per month. The Common Pleas Court continued to sit in the Stidger Block under the foregoing terms until 1814, when the contract was changed so as call for an annual rental of $40. It continued in force until the courthouse was completed in 1817. A log jail, corner of Market and Third, was built in 1814, and was amply sufficient for years to come. GREEN TOWNSHIP FORMED In April, 1811, Green Township was created by lopping off most of the body of the original Plain Township, viz., the territory now embraced 92 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY by Lake, Lawrence and Jackson Townships, in Stark County, and Green and Franklin townships, Summit County. Green Township continued as a part of Stark County until the creation of Summit County, in 1840 For instance, the Ohio Gazetteer, published in 1839, and considered the most up-to-date traveler's guide issued, contains the following: " Green— A township of Stark county, situated in Township 9, Range 12, and containing thirty-three and a half square miles. It has one grist mill, six saw mills and one tannery. The soil lies rolling and consists of oak and plain land, of which 5,500 acres are under cultivation. The population- at the census of 1830 amounted to 1,011, and is now estimated at 1,400. There is a town in the township recorded by the name of Greensburg." The formation of Green Township in 1811 reduced Plain to its present dimensions. PERRY TOWNSHIP In 1813 Perry Township was formed from that portion of Tuscarawas lying west of the river by that name and from that part of Canton Township east of the Tuscarawas. MORE TAXES The most important official acts of 1814 were those relating to taxes. The commissioners raised the tax both on personal property and real estate, that on real estate being increased from 1/2 to 1 per cent. This was rendered necessary on account of the pressure brought to bear upon the county board for the construction of bridges, viewing and extension of roads, and the general expenses of the county. As illustrations of the extent of the early financial transactions of the county, it is gleaned that in 1812 the county collector reported that he and his assistants had gathered $265.80 ; in 1814, $961.02, and in 1815, $1,256.23. The result of increased taxation had become evident. BUILDING OF THE FIRST COURTHOUSE The financial outlook was so encouraging that the project of building a courthouse was vigorously revived both within and without the county board. But the matter did not take practical shape until the summer of 1816, when the commissioners received proposals for the erection of a suitable brick structure for county purposes to cost $6,250, "exclusive of the bell, bell-frame, spire, ball and lightning rod." On the 23d of HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 93 July, of that year, they entered into a contract with Thomas A. Drayton, for the brick work, and John D. Henley, for the wood work. The bricks were made and furnished by Timothy Wallis. The amount paid the contractors was $5,515; so that, with all furnishings, the cost of the courthouse probably fell within the stipulated price. It was completed in 1817. The county commissioners at the time of the erection of the first courthouse were John Kryder, John Sluss, William Alban and John Saxton, Mr. Saxton serving in place of Mr. Kryder during the later part of the construction period. BUSY PERIOD OF TOWNSHIP-MAKING The years 1815 and 1816 were epoch-making in the creation of townships in Stark County, as seven of its seventeen came into being within that period—in 1815, Jackson, Lawrence and Pike, and in 1816, Lexington, Sugar Creek, and Lake. Brown Township (now Carroll County) was also erected in 1815 and Franklin (Summit County) in 1816. Harrison and Rose townships, both in Carroll County, were formed in 1817 and 1818, respectively, and in the latter year Paris, and Washington, Stark County, were also created. Marlboro Township was formed in 1821. SECOND JAIL COMPLETED In December, 1829, the commissioners authorized the auditor to give notice that sealed proposals for the erection of a county jail would be received, and at a special meeting in February, 1830, the clerk of the board made this record : "After a careful examination of the several proposals laid in for the erection of a new jail it is ordered that the contract be assigned to Calvin Hobart, he having agreed to furnish materials and complete the work for the whole building for the sum of $3,600; and it is further ordered that the said contractor enter into bond with sufficient security for the faithful, performance of the work." This building, which took the place of the old log jail, was completed in January, 1831. John Danner, a native of Canton and six years of age at the time the second jail was completed, was long a business man and manufacturer, as well as a prominent citizen of public affairs, at the county seat. His pen was also busy in recording county events, in which he took so active a part. and in 1904, then over eighty years of age, he had this to say of the jail of 1830-31, or the second county jail : "The old jail stood for many years on the southwest corner of Cleveland avenue and Ninth street, on the lot now occupied by the office and residence of Dr. Edward 94 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY P. Morrow. The jail stood back from the Cleveland avenue sidewalk line about fifteen feet, but on Ninth street it came close to the line of the walk. The barn or stable occupied the site of the present Disciples' church, and these two structures were the only buildings on the entire block between Ninth and Tenth streets. The ownership of the block was vested in the county, and most of it was used for years as a garden and potato patch. "The jail building was two stories in height and about thirty-five by forty feet in dimensions. The main entrance on the east front was the dividing line, opening into a hall, that ran through the building. The north half was the prison and the south half the residence of the sheriff. The lower story of the north half was very substantially built of stone, and the balance of the building was constructed of brick. In the north half were four rooms on the first floor and four on the second ; both below and above was a hall which ran westward and divided the prison rooms, or cells, of which there were two on each side of the hall both on the first and second floors. The barred windows below were about sixteen inches high and thirty inches wide, there being one to each cell which afforded all the light and outside ventilation provided. Upstairs the prison departments had window openings of the same size as those of the resident portion of the building, but the former were well guarded with iron bars with apertures between of about six inches square." THE OLD COURTHOUSE Mr. Danner also describes the old courthouse : "The Court House was constructed of brick, was square in form and not more than fifty feet in lateral dimensions, as the lot was but sixty-six feet in width and the building stood a number of feet back from the south line. The roof was pitched to the four sides and from the center rose the old-style tower or belfry, on the vane of which was plainly inscribed the figures 1816, indicating the year in which the building was erected. In the cupola was installed the bell that now does service in the tower of the central fire-engine building; and it is worthy of mention in a historic way. This is the bell that the venerable Nicholas Burger rang for so many years with punctilious exactitude and precision—first, at the hour of nine in the morning, to summon the children to the village school ; then at the meridian hour, to admonish the good folk of the attractions of the dinner table ; and again at nine in the evening, when it was considered time for the stores to close and for all to prepare for bed." HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 95 THE FIRST COUNTY BUILDING West of the courthouse and on a line with it, was afterward erected a one-story brick structure, containing four offices for the use of the auditor, treasurer, recorder and clerk. On the west end of the lot was a one-story frame building occupied for many years as a store. Between this and the county building was a driveway from Tuscarawas Street used for putting coal and wood into the sheds which stood in the rear. But, after a few years, these accommodation both for the judiciary and the county officials were outgrown and the public, voiced in the persons of the commissioners, sought something larger and better. PASSING OF THE LOG JAIL The first county jail, on the northeast corner of Market and Third, is described as a "building constructed of a double tier of good-sized logs with a frame on the outside, the walls thus formed being undoubtedly two feet in thickness. After it was abandoned as a jail the building was occupied by Thomas Cunningham, who utilized the same as a carpenter shop, and it was destroyed by fire during his occupancy." COURTHOUSE REMODELED In August, 1833, the commissioners considered the advisability of remodeling the courthouse, "Dwight Jarvis, Esq., being authorized to employ W. W. Knapp, of Massillon, or some other competent mechanic, to go to Ravenna and take a plan of the Court House at that place, and ascertain whether the court room at Canton can be altered to correspond with that, and to estimate the cost of such alteration." This order of the board did not seem to have been carried out, for in March, 1834, Eli Sowers was authorized to repair the courthouse in accordance with a plan which he had prepared, and he was paid $844.81 for his services. As near as can be ascertained the most radical changes were the construction of a back stairway, the removal of some partitions in the south part of the building, the lowering of the judge's stand so as to bring His Honor nearer on a level with the common people, and the obliteration of the prisoner's dock, with its prominent and humiliating inclosure. LARGER COUNTY BUILDING Proposals for a new courthouse were invited by the county board in January, 1836, to accord with a plan on file (probably based on the 96 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY Ravenna courthouse, which the commissioners greatly admired), but that matter was dropped and, after several years, the authorities decided that the better plan was to erect a larger structure for the county offices. A definite decision to that effect was ma de in June, 1842, the contract for a building to cost about $7,000 was awarded to Francis Warthorst in September, and in March, 1843, work was fairly begun. In the meantime hard times had descended upon the people of Stark County, in common with other distressed Americans, and they called a halt upon the work which was well advanced in the following message to the commissioners: "Your petitioners, citizens of Stark county, respectfully solicit your honorable body to suspend the building of the county offices until after the expression of the will of the tax-payers of this county, to be determined at the election to be held in the spring. Your petitioners, in making this request, would respectfully represent that they are desirous of ascertaining whether the tax-paying community of this county feel themselves in a situation, taking into consideration the present depressed state of monetary affairs of this State, to see built at an additional tax of from $6,000 to $8,000, the said county offices ; and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray." But the board ruled that "in consequence of the advanced state of the work of the contractor, and also the fact that the additional tax will be necessary to complete the building, the commissioners deem it inexpedient to comply with the prayer of the petitioners." The new county building was a brick, two-story structure, extending from the courthouse to Court Street. It was imposing for those days and became quite a resort for not a few who did not go thither on strictly county business. Finally, the commissioners had to speak plainly, as is evident by the following, passed at their meeting of December 8, 1843, and signed by Messrs. John Bretz, George Howenstine and William Dillon : "Whereas, great complaint has been made in various portions of the county that the public offices, erected for the security of the public records and the convenience of the public have been converted into gambling rooms, inducing idleness and immoral habits ; therefore, it is ordered by the undersigned commissioners of Stark county that from and after this date every species of gaming, whether for amusement or for wager, is strictly forbidden and prohibited in the public buildings. And it is further ordered that the clerk of the Board furnish a copy of the foregoing preamble and order for each room of the public buildings." The lower rooms were all that were demanded for the accommodation of the county officeso and the west room on the ground floor was used for many years as the office of the county recorder. The second story HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 97 had a hall running east and west, with offices on either side. The front rooms were considered quite desirable and were always occupied. Among those who had offices there for a number of years were Thomas Goodman, Alexander Bierce, Brice S. Hunter and William Bryce, mostly insurance men and all good citizens. The long hall in the second story did not run through the building, but opened into the large room so long occupied by the Stark County Democrat, during and after the Civil war, for the county building of 1843 was occupied until the completion of the second courthouse in 1870. But there were to be many happenings affecting the county before that year. THE INVASION OF CARROLL COUNTY In 1832 and 1840, respectively, as has been briefly noted, Stark County was decreased in area and reduced to its present size and form, CANTON PUBLIC SQUARE IN 1836 by the creation of Carroll and Summit counties. The details of the adjustment as arranged by the counties interested are interesting and pertinent to the scope of this official chapter. Carroll County was created by legislative act on Christmas Day, 1832, and by that measure its area was reduced by the Township of Brown (except the northern tier of sections), the townships of Harrison and Rose, and two tiers of sections on the eastern side of Sandy Township. The citizens of the territory thus incorporated with Carroll County, and the Stark County representatives in the Legislature, were strongly opposed to this invasion of her original area and the spoiling Vol. I— 7 98 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY of her regular form. But the division was made, and on the 16th of December, 1833, Commissioners James Hazlett, James Downing and Nicholas Stump, of Stark County, and Commissioners John Shober and John W. Russell, of Carroll County, met at Canton to divide the county funds. The basis of their agreement was the following : In 1832, the valuation of taxable property in Stark County was $1,981,691, and that of the area given to Carroll County, $165,451, viz.,—Harrison Township, $58;814, Rose, $45,811, and the portions mentioned of Brown, $47,770, and of Sandy, $13,056. Then, as the total valuation in the county, $1,981,691, was to the amount in the county treasury, $1,170.05, so was the valuation of the remaining territory in Stark County, $1,816,240, to the amount of funds the county had a right to retain, $1,072.35 ; which sum, deducted from the funds in the treasury, gives (as a remainder) the payment to Carroll County, $97.70. On the 17th of February, 1834, the surveyors appointed by the two counties met at the residence of John Whitacre, in Paris, to run the boundary dividing Stark and Carroll ; and, as then fixed, it has remained. ABSORPTIONS BY SUMMIT COUNTY In December, 1839, a bill was introduced to the State House of Representatives by the chairman of the Committee on New Counties for the creation of Summit County. From that time until its passage February 6, 1840, it was stubbornly fought by John Smith and James Welsh, Stark County representatives, but without avail, as, on the date named, it slipped through the House by a majority of three. The bill had been taken up by the Senate in January, 1840, and every effort was made to defeat it by David Hostetter, of Stark, and others. But it became a law on the 3d of March, 1840. On the 15th of the following May, George Kreichbaum, John Bretz and Peter Stimmel, commissioners of Stark County, and John Hay, Jonathan Starr and Augustus E. Foote, of Summit, met at Canton to make an apportionment of the county funds, by the usual play. The required items which gave Summit County $313 were as follows: Valuation of taxable property in Stark County for 1839, $2,698,773; Green Township, $106,219 and of Franklin, $96,940. At the time of passage of the bill there was in the county treasury $4,158.19. VOTING RAILROAD AID Stark County took an early interest in the various railroad lines projected from Pittsburgh and Cleveland toward the Ohio canal. The HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 99 Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad, chartered in 1831, was the pioneer which actually penetrated into Stark County territory, but as it only passed through one small corner (and that twenty years afterward), the county authorities and the citizens were not especially enthusiastic in their support of it. The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago (Pennsylvania) Railroad, however, was quite a different proposition, as its route was through the central and richest sections of the county, connecting Alliance. Louisville, Canton, and Massillon with both the East and the West. Of the three corporations which in 1856 were consolidated as the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway, the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railway Company was the one in which Stark County was most vitally interested. It was chartered by the legislatures of Ohio and Pennsylvania in 1848, and the company was orginally empowered to build a road from Mansfield, Richland County, both east and west to the Ohio state line. In 1850 the directors made Crestline, thirteen miles east of Bucyrus, Crawford County, its western terminus. The work on the line had been commenced in July, 1849, and was completed to Crestline, in April, 1853. In the meantime that town had been made the eastern terminus of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad, which was completed in the fall of 1856, and placed in connection with the Cincinnati, Pennsylvania & Chicago, or Fort Wayne & Chicago. The various steps taken by Stark County to push along the Ohio and Pennsylvania section of what thus became a portion of the great Pennsylvania system of railroads were inaugurated by the subscription made by the commissioners in May, 1849, covering 1,500 shares, or $75,000 of its capital stock. That amount was increased to $127.000 up to the time the three roads consolidated in 1856. When that took place, the Ohio & Pennsylvania stock was considered the most valuable in the combination, and in the new issue of stock certificates Stark County increased her holdings in that series to $172,000. The certificates were sold by the commissioners, about twenty years afterward, to pay off the bonds issued by the county for the original stock in the old Ohio & Pennsylvania Company. THE SECOND COURTHOUSE When the commissioners finally decided that the time had come to erect a building becoming the dignity of the county, which should accommodate both the courts and the county officials, they were not authorized, under the laws of the State, to levy a tax for that purpose 100 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY to exceed $15,000. It therefore became necessary to secure the passage of a special act, which was accomplished March 14, 1867, and which read as follows : "Section 1—Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the commissioners of Stark County be and they are hereby authorized to build a new Court House, with public offices, at the county seat of said county, on the lot now occupied by the Court House and public offices, at a cost not exceeding $100,000. The material in the old Court House and public offices may, in the discretion of said commissioners, be used in erecting the new Court House, or sold and the proceeds or any part thereof appropriated to the building or furnishing of said new Court House. "Section 2—To enable the commissioners to carry into effect the provisions of this act, they are hereby authorized to transfer to the building fund and use for the purposes of this act, any surplus of other funds now in the county treasury, or which hereafter may accumulate, not needed for the specific purposes for which said surplus was raised ; and also raise by taxation on the property of the county whatever sum may be needed for said purpose, not exceeding in all the aforesaid aggregate amount of $100,000 ; but the taxes so levied shall not in any one year exceed $20,000. In anticipation of the collection of said taxes, the said commissioners shall have power to issue the bonds of said county in such sums and upon such terms, bearing legal rates of interest and redeemable at the pleasure of said commissioners, which bonds shall not be sold at less than par value. "Section 3—Before determining upon a plan of said building, said commissioners may personally examine similar structures anywhere in the State; and they shall call to their assistance a competent architect or engineer to prepare drafts and specifications of the plan determined upon; and the work of the building of said structure may be done either under their own supervision or that of a superintendent, to be appointed by them and subject to their control, in accordance with the plan determined on by them, or any modifications thereof they may make. "Section 4—That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage." Immediately after the passage of this bill, in 1867, the commissioners issued an order to the effect that if the City of Canton would furnish $25,000 toward the general expense of completing the courthouse, an order would be issued for its erection. That stipulation having been accepted in May, through the action of the city council, the county board advertised for plans and specifications and on the 12th of October, 1867, considered the plans submitted by Messrs. Henry E. Meyer, J. C. Hoxie, HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 101 George P. Smith and W. H. Frazer and ranging from $80,000 to $110,000. After selecting the plan submitted by Mr. Hoxie, the commissioners advertised for proposals for the erection of the building according to it. The bids were from $87,000 to $125,000, the proposal of Poyser & Campbell, the lowest bidder, being accepted, and Henry E. Meyer, of Cleveland, employed as architect and engineer. Soon afterward, Hoxie's plan, for definite reasons, was abandoned, and one prepared by Mr. Meyer for a $98,000 courthouse was adopted. The contract was finally signed by commissioners and contractors March 11, 1868, funds were raised according to the legislative act, and Washington's birthday, 1870, was selected as the date for dedicating the new courthouse. The "extras" allowed by the board brought the cost of the completed structure up to a trifle over $111,000. The public dedication was in the court room, and on the 28th of February the Court of Common Pleas first met in the new temple of justice, Hon. Joseph Frease, presiding, and A. W. Heldenbrand, clerk. Representative members of the bench and bar of Stark County also gathered at that time to "appropriately and solemnly dedicate the same to the administration of justice." On motion of Col. S. Meyer, Judge Frease was appointed chairman and Mr. Heldenbrand, secretary, and the Colonel, Alexander Bierce, Robert H. Folger, John McSweeney and Harvey Laughlin were named as the committee on resolutions. That body resolved that Judge Frease, on behalf of the bench and bar, formally dedicate the courthouse, and that the proceedings of the meeting be spread on the court records as "a perpetual memorial of the dedication of the new Court House." The resolutions were adopted, Judge Frease formally and appropriately carried out his part of the program, and effective remarks were also made by the members of the committee on resolutions. As indicative of the personnel of the bench and bar of that period, the following were present at the dedicatory exercises: Bench—Hon. Joseph Frease, Hon. George M. Tuttle, Hon. Norman L. Chaffee and Hon. Philo B. Conant. Members of the bar—S. Meyer, Alexander Bierce, George E. Baldwin, J. J. Parker, James Amerman, A. L. Jones, Anson Peasc, A. L. Baldwin, Robert H. Folger, Harvey Laughlin, William McKinley, Jr., John Lahm, William A. Lynch, W. B. Higby, Ed S. Meyer, Ed F. Schneider, W. C. Pippitt, James J. Clark, W. W. Clark, Louis Schaefer, John C. Stallcup, George W. Raff and John W. McCord. 102 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY THE PRESENT COURTHOUSE AND JAIL Within a few years after the courthouse was completed, the county erected a larger and a stronger jail than the one built in 1830, and more than three decades passed before the commissioners and the citizens who paid the taxes insisted upon the construction of the magnificent buildings now occupied as representative of the solid standing and progressive spirit of Stark County. On March 1, 1893, the State Legislature passed a special act authorizing the remodeling of the Stark County courthouse and building an addition thereto. On March 3, 1893, resolution was passed by the Board of County Commissioners to improve the courthouse by constructing a third story and suitable vaults therein, re-arranging, remodeling, and completing the several rooms, offices and interior of said courthouse, and by constructing an addition thereto on the east side and providing for having plans, specifications and estimates prepared and submitted by architects. On June 26, 1893, plans, specifications and estimates were presented by Architect George F. Hammond, of Cleveland, Ohio, and were approved by the commissioners. July 5, 1893, the auditor of Stark County was authorized to advertise the sale of $25,000 worth of county bonds bearing interest at 5 per cent ; $10,000 for nine years and $15,000 for ten years. No bids were received for these bonds and they were re-advertised at 6 per cent and divided as follows: $5,000 maturing in two years and $5,000 maturing each ensuing year. These were bought by the First National Bank of Niles, Ohio, at par on September 21, 1893. On September 18, 1893, the bond of James Davault of Columbus, Ohio, was presented and approved and contract was entered into with him for the erection of the east addition and south wall at a cost of $80,150, and Berea stone and granite were specified as the materials to be used. On January 17, 1894, a resolution was passed to present an act. to Legislature for authority for the county commissioners to issue county bonds for amount of $100,000 for improving the courthouse. This act was passed by the Legislature on June 9th. The commissioners passed a resolution to issue $100,000 worth of improvement bonds for $1,000 each, 5 per cent interest, $10,000 being due each year beginning in 1904. On July 12th bids were received for this issue of bonds and were awarded to the First National Bank of Niles, Ohio, for $108,325. On July 9th the bond of Melbourne & Melbourne was received and approved and contract entered into for erection of the west part of courthouse at cost of $52,220.30. Courthouse was completed about August 1, 1895, and the total cost for the building was between $175,000 and $200,000. John R. Poyser, Josiah Clutz, J. 0. Krieghbaum and J. W. Wearstler were HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 103 the county commissioners during the building of the new courthouse. The trustees were Austin Lynch, J. E. Mentzer, Dr. T. Clarke Miller and C. C. Baker. On the first floor of the present courthouse are the following offices: County commissioners, county auditor, probate judge, county treasurer, county- recorder and Stark County Agricultural Society. On the second floor are the offices of the clerk of courts and sheriff's offices, court rooms Nos. 1, 2, and 3 used by the Probate Court, Courts of Common Pleas and Courts cf Appeals and private offices for judges of different courts. On the third floor are court room No. 4, grand jury room, prosecuting attcrney's office, county surveyor's office, Court of Appeals and the Law Library. On a mezzanine floor are storage rooms for the clerk of courts and records of all kinds pertaining to the county. In the basement are the office for Canton Township Trustees, ticket office and public waiting room of the Northern Ohio Traction & Light Company and a public waiting room. COUNTY OFFICERS The county officers now serving are: Judges of Court of Appeals-Fifth Appellate District of Ohio: R. S. Shields, Canton; L. K. Powell, Mount Gilead; L. B. Houck, Mount Vernon. Judges of Common Pleas Court-H. F. Ake, Canton ; R. H. Day, Massillon. United States Referee in Bankruptcy—Celsus Pomerene. Board of Commissioners—L. A. Leonard, Alliance; T. J. Bidwell and Samuel Ake, Canton; W. C. Schick, New Berlin, clerk. Probate Judge—Charles Krickbaum. Auditor—R. L. Oberlin. Treasurer—F. A. Coldren. Clerk of Courts—C. W. Kirk. Recorder—Dr. H. W. Faulk. Sheriff—F. K. Norwood. Prosecuting Attorney—A. T. Snyder. Surveyor—G. L. Sickafoose. Coroner—Dr. B. J. Douds. Superintendent of Infirmary—J. B. Fierstos. Superintendent of Workhouse—E. M. Boyer. County Superintendent of Schools—J. J. Armstrong. County Board of Education—W. J. Pontius, Canton, president; Mrs. J. W. Myers. Louisville, vice president; Dr. R. T. Temple, Minerva; A. B. Wingate, Beach City ; Elmer Lieghley. Navarre. 104 - PICTURE OF STARK COUNTY INFIRMARY, CANTON HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 105 INSTITUTIONS FOR THE UNFORTUNATE Stark County is neither less fortunate nor more so than the majority of well-settled and fore-handed communities in the great states between Lake Erie and the Ohio Valley, in the matter of the burdens which are shouldered in carrying the poor, the sick, the criminal and the unfortunate. For the purpose of concentrating these burdens, which would otherwise be distributed over the entire county and be a constant aggravation and menace to the private citizen and his home, every American county establishes such institutions as jails, poorhouses, infirmaries, asylums and hospitals, and in that field Stark County has always shown thoughtfulness and generosity. THE COUNTY INFIRMARY As early as December, 1833, the number of indigent poor had so increased that the citizens of the county, through the commissioners, determined to establish a home for those who are always with us. As the first step in that direction the county board bought of the Shorb Estate and of John Saxton, then in his prime as the remarkable editor of the Repository, a farm of about 150 acres lying in the northwest quarter of section 33, Plain Township, then about one mile north of Canton. The subject had been discussed before, but that was the first practical step toward the establishment of the Infirmary. In December, 1834, the commissioners directed the auditor to insert a notice in all the newspapers to the effect that $10 would be paid for a plan of such merit that it could be adopted by the commissioners, the same to be submitted on the 2nd of February, 1835. Only two, of the commissioners were present at that time and the matter was postponed until the next regular session. It is not known whose plans were adopted, but in June, 1835, a tax of three-quarters of a mill was levied for the purpose of paying for the farm and erecting the necessary buildings. In August, 1836, the board borrowed $1,000 of the Canton Bank to be applied toward the cost of erecting the buildings. After examining several proposals, Abraham Lind was employed to construct the main building, and on the 14th of July, 1837, it was accepted by the commissioners as complete. As is customary, there was some misunderstanding between the contractor and the board, which took some time to adjust, but the main point is that the poorhouse was built. About eighty acres were afterward added to the farm, and various improvements and additions were made to the building within the following forty years. 106 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY In the early '80s the Canton Repository thus describes the poorhouse and farm : "The Infirmary is situated about one mile north of the city, the buildings being several hundred yards back from the road. They are reached by a neatly kept lane, bounded on each side by whitewashed fences, and the visitor is first impressed by the air of neatness and order that everywhere prevails. The grass along the roadside and the lawn before the building is smoothly cut, and free from any signs of rubbish. The main portion of the building extends from north to south, with a wing in each extremity running east. The main portion is one hundred feet long, the north wing one hundred and twelve and the south wing one hundred. It is two stories high, with a wide double veranda running along the north and south sides. It was erected in 1837, and at the time of its completion must have been sufficiently ample in all respects for the use to which it was adopted, as well as a work of merit from an architectural point of view ; but such a length of time has elapsed since then, and the increasing demand for room growing proportionately with the increase in population, now makes it confined and inadequate to the demands upon it. "The main portion of the building on the first floor is devoted to the private use of the superintendent and his family, dining rooms in several departments, public rooms, as the office and room for the reception of visitors, rooms for household work and other uses. In the basement of the main portion, which is on a level with the ground, are kitchens, storerooms and various other departments. The second floor is devoted to sleeping departments. The north wing is reserved for the insane, corridors running the entire length of it on both floors, lined on each side by the various rooms. "On the first floor are the dining rooms, sitting rooms and some sleeping apartments. The wing is not entirely devoted to the insane, the large number of inmates necessitating a portion of the space being given to the other inmates. It is divided into male and female departments, communicating with each other by an iron door, generally locked, but during the day in warm weather open, to create as much draft as possible. The south wing is for the better class of inmates, and corresponds in general to that of the north. "Throughout the entire building all is neatness and order, the walls and ceilings being nicely whitewashed and the woodwork showing frequent applications of sponge and water. Those who are able among the inmates are assigned work suitable for them, the men being employed about the farm and out-door work generally, while the females are supplied with duties about the house. The aged and infirm, and those in any way disqualified for labor, are to be seen sitting around in various HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 107 places on the many seats conveniently provided, or slowly walking from place to place. "There are now 172 inmates in the Infirmary, while the building contains eighty rooms. The first inmate was Samuel Miller, aged twenty-five, from Massillon, who died in November, 1875 ; the last entered, Mrs. Preast, from Canton. The oldest inmate is Tim Simmons, aged one hundred and three, who came from Alliance about two years ago." A hospital building was erected in 1893 at a cost of about $10,000. The growth of the county in population, and the consequent increase of the indigent element, made it necessary to erect numerous buildings and additions within the following twenty years, especially after 1900. In 1909, also, the commissioners purchased an eighty-six acre addition, and as they sold a field of seven acres west of Cleveland Avenue about the same time the area of the Infirmary Farm was fixed at 312 acres. The site of the Infirmary is now hounded on the south by the corporation of Canton, on the north by the Unger Road, and east and west by Cleveland Avenue extension and the North Market Street extension. The crops harvested, which are always creditable both to the soil and the workers, comprise chiefly wheat, corn, oats, hay, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes and beans. Cattle and hogs are also raised, mainly for dairy purposes and meat supply, and the Infirmary has one of the best barns far the care of live stock in the county. A woman's cottage was built in 1903 at a cost of approximately $55,000. In this building are the superintendent's dwelling rooms and office. In 1907 the dining room, kitchen and corridor building, which is connected with the main building, was erected at a cost of $35,000. In 1908 a new barn was built at a cost of $6,400. Mr. and Mrs. I. B. Druckenbrod, now superintendent and matron of the Fairmount Children's Home, were in charge of the Stark County Infirmary from April, 1904, to October, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Fierstos are superintendent and matron at this time. The Infirmary has a capacity of 325 inmates, and cares for from 200 to 300, according to the season of the year. THE STARK COUNTY WORKHOUSE Since its establishment in 1894 the Stark County Workhouse has been confined to the care of criminals of the minor type, and prisoners are received from not only Stark County, but Summit, Wayne, Carroll, Columbiana, Ashtabula, Harrison and Jefferson. Various cities and towns have also contracts with the institution for "farming out" tramps and others convicted of minor offenses. Federal prisoners from the 108 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY Northern Ohio District, which includes Toledo, Youngstown and Cleveland, have been confined in the Stark County Workhouse. Over 10,000 prisoners have worn the stripes therein since the institution opened its doors in 1894. The active inmates are employed, under contract, to make rat traps, waste paper baskets and other wire specialties, while the older men care for the lawns and trees and cultivate the gardens, which produce potatoes, tomatoes, onions, sweet corn and lettuce. The workhouse management not only cultivates land of its own, but often rents several acres of the infirmary grounds for truck gardening. The result is healthful work for the old or infirm criminals and healthful food for all. In fact, "the table," both of the workhouse and the infirmary, is understood to be so superior that the small criminals and the unfortunate poor of Northern Ohio consider themselves fortunate when they can become identified with either of them. The average number of prisoners is about 150. The workhouse has been self-sustaining ever since 1910. The total disbursements for 1914 were $19,589.32, of which $10,064.06 was for salaries and balance was for food, clothing, drugs, medicines, coal, gas, water, electric lights, telephones and other office expenses. The earnings for the same period were in excess of $20,000. During the year 1914 there was collected $3,432.47 in fines and costs. The earnings from the garden and truck patch for year 1914 was $1,505. During 1914 the institution earned $13,698.98 for boarding prisoners and there were also 18,366 days of free board during that same period for prisoners from Stark County. E. M. Boyer has been superintendent for eleven years and Mrs. Boyer has been matron for the same number of years, which is evidence that they are especially qualified for the positions they hold. THE MASSILLON STATE HOSPITAL The imposing collection of buildings which cover the beautiful swell of ground south of Massillon stand for the greatest and the most famous charity in Stark County; it is known simply as the Massillon State Hospital and its wise and patient care of more than 1,800 mental defectives is another illustration of William McKinley's broad benevolence, for it was largely to his efforts that its grand, healthful and charming site was chosen. The Massillon State Hospital was authorized by statute on March 31, 1892, and was opened for the reception of patients on the 6th of September, 1898, the month after the peace protocol was signed between Spain and the United States and three years before McKinley's assassina- HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 109 tion. The first superintendent of the hospital was Dr. A. B. Richardson, who served from its opening until October, 1899, and soon after Dr. H. C. Eyman, the present incumbent, was installed. Remarkable as the growth of the institution has been, it would not be of special interest to enumerate the forty-three buildings which, as a whole, constitute the state hospital, but the ground will be generally covered by stating that new structures have appeared almost every year since the institution was authorized, and that twenty-three of the buildings now standing are used for the housing of patients. The total valuation of land and buildings is $1,500,000, and 1,825 inmates are (PICTURE) ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, STATE HOSPITAL, MASSILLON eared for by the state through the long experience and trained abilities of Superintendent Eyman and his staffs of physicians, nurses, teachers and other employees. Asked if there were any special features connected with the system, Doctor Eyman mentioned : "First—The large farm connected with the institution, giving all men physically able to work something to do. "Second—We have a special building, erected for the purpose of giving the younger patients an opportunity to attend school. We have special instructors in mental and physical training. We also have instructors for industrial training where all sorts of occupations are taught." Doctor Eyman says that Stark County contributes about 20 per cent of the inmates, and adds : "Contrary to the general opinion, the majority 110 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY of these do not come from the country districts, but from the cities. Over half of our Stark County patients have been admitted from Canton. I do not regard the isolation of life in the country so conducive to insanity as the dissipations of life in the cities. Neither do I place much faith in the theory that farmers' wives are exceptionally susceptible to insanity." When asked about the care of incurables he replied: "I do not like the use of the word incurable. With the advances that have recently been made in medical science, none but the Almighty knows whether or not a man may be eventually cured. For chronic cases of insanity we find the open-air treatment the best, and for many of these the institution must be regarded as an asylum, or place of refuge, rather than as a hospital. Each year we discharge from 30 to 40 per cent of the patients admitted that year as cured. From 5 to 8 per cent die each year. "In acute cases which we are treating, we find the hydrotherapeutic method more efficacious than the administering of drugs. By the use of drip-sheet rugs, hot and cold packs, continuous baths, cabinet baths followed by showers and massage, we gradually eliminate the poisons from the system." THE FAIRMOUNT CHILDREN'S HOME The Fairmount Children's Home, two miles south of Alliance in Washington Township, is a splendid institution through which Stark County has not hidden her good light under a bushel. Since it was opened, in 1877, more than 3,000 needy children, under sixteen years of age, have been given homes and affectionate care, starting them on the right road to intelligent usefulness. At first it was the intention that the children should be received from five counties; the number was then reduced to four and finally to two Stark and Columbiana. In view of its years of effective benevolence, the details of its founding and progress are worthy of note. Under the provisions of a general state law for the establishment of children's homes, passed March 30, 1874, the commissioners of the counties of Stark, Carroll, Jefferson, Columbiana and Mahoning met at Salem, Ohio, on June 26th of that year, to consult in reference to the founding of such an institution for the district included in the counties named. The meeting resulted in the decision that Stark, Columbiana, Portage and Mahoning would make a more compact and suitable district ; that the cost of the home should not exceed $40,000, and that either Alliance or vicinity would be a suitable site. After that decision was HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 111 made a matter of formal record the president of the meeting declared the four counties named formed into a district as provided by law, but at joint sessions subsequently held Portage and Mahoning counties withdrew, leaving Stark and Columbiana to continue the good work together. A certain dissatisfied element endeavored to withdraw Stark County from the compact, but without avail, and C. K. Greiner, Levi Stump and William Barber, of Stark County, and James Davis and Joshua Lee, of Columbiana, were appointed the first trustees. On May 4, 1875, the commissioners of the two counties signed the contract for the land which they had purchased from Thomas Rackstraw at a cost of $13,770. Henry E. Meyer, the architect and builder of the courthouse, also prepared the plans and specifications for the Fairmount Children's Home, but the building contractors were Messrs. Parkinson & Marrison, of New Lisbon. The home was completed and dedicated in October, 1876, and the board of trustees employed Dr. J. F. Buck as its first superintendent. The main building was opened for the reception of inmates on the 31st of that month, on which day sixteen children were received from the Stark County Infirmary. The Fairmount Children's Home for Stark and Columbiana counties is located in the eastern part of Stark County, two miles south of Alliance. The farm contains 154 acres and is favorably located. The object of the institution is to furnish a temporary home for the indigent children of the two counties under sixteen years of age, where they can be supported and provided with physical, mental and moral training, until permanent homes can be provided for them, or until they become capable of earning and providing for themselves, or their guardians for them. The buildings include the main or administration buildings, five cottages, school and chapel, a laundry, a detention house, a large commodious bank barn, horse and carriage house, ice house, slaughter house, poultry house and all necessary outbuildings. The administration building is a two-story brick building with stone trimmings. The length is 115 feet and the width 82 feet. On the first floor are the offices, reception rooms, parlor, dining rooms and pantries and store rooms. The superintendent's family rooms and a store room and a girls' dormitory are on the second floor. In the basement are large fruit, vegetable and dairy rooms, a kitchen, laundry and industrial rooms. Centrally located on the three floors are fire plugs that are connected with the water tank. A new cottage was erected in 1914 at a 112 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY cost of $20,000. The laundry is a new building which cost $18,000. The school and chapel is not yet completed. The cost of this building will be about $20,000. It is a modern fireproof structure with the necessary class rooms, a manual training and a domestic science room and auditorium. There are 152 children in the home at the present time. Mr. and Mrs. Druckenbrod are the efficient superintendent and matron of the institution. We quote from the last report of the Stark County Board of Visitors the following : "This board congratulates the people of the counties in that the control of the institution was fortunate enough to secure the services of Mr. and Mrs. Druckenbrod as superintendent and matron. Their unfailing tact and good nature—tempered with wise firmness ; their very evident interest in the many duties of their offices ; and knowledge of child nature ; and special equipment and fitness for their positions—all these things make for a successful administration." The report for 1914 gives an itemized list of the farm and garden products ; the total value for that year being $6,142.66. The present board of trustees of this institution consists of M. G. Marshall, Canton, Ohio ; George C. Leeper, Massillon, Ohio ; John Eyer, Alliance, Ohio, representing Stark County, and George Owen, East Liverpool, Ohio, and II. B. Shelton, Leetonia, Ohio, representing Columbiana County. The farm is largely self-sustaining, as a considerable portion of it is cultivated by the older boys, who are required to assist one-half of each day from May to October. The smaller children are of much help in market gardening and cultivating small fruit. A herd of twenty Holstein cows, sufficient to supply the home with milk and butter, is also cared for, so that, in one way and another, the boys get a good training in practical farming, which will enable them to earn a living, at least, when they leave the institution. The household education of the girls is not neglected, for they are drilled in needlework by the woman in charge of the industrial department, and many articles of use are made by the girls, who, like the boys, work half a day and go to school the other half ; during the year, in fact, they make all the clothing needed by the inmates of the home. The older girls also assist in the kitchen, dining room and laundry. The children of school age are divided into two grades, according to proficiency. The older scholars, who work half the day, attend school during the other half, as stated, but those from six to ten years of age attend school regularly without vacation. All who are of sufficient age are required to attend Sabbath school exercises, which consist mainly in reciting portions of the Scriptures and singing. Ministers of different denominations and representatives of the Young Men's Christian Asso- HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 113 ciation and the Young Women's Christian Association have been in the habit of conducting such services. Neither does the home neglect the essential of providing its juveniles with healthful exercise and amusements, and their playgrounds are considered as important as any feature of the system, which is designed to lay the groundwork of useful manhood and womanhood in the characters of those who have been deprived of their natural guardians and molders. POPULAR EDUCATION IN THE COUNTY Popular education in the county has always been disseminated freely —that is, to the extent of the means controlled by the taxpayers. In the earlier times and in sparsely settled districts, with scant individual means, it was often difficult to raise the money to even pay the wages of the teachers, often but $1 a week for women and perhaps twice that sum for men. Books also cost hard earned money. At first there was no public fund available, and at a considerably later period even the fund for the payment of teachers was very small, and what was lacking was made up by assessment on the fathers of those who had children at school ; hence, the teacher was often obliged to wait for a part of the small salary due until such assessments could be collected. The early schools were all subscription institutions—that is, each family subscribed according to the number of scholars who attended the school of the neighborhood. PIONEER SCHOOLS The first school in the county is supposed to have been built in 1808 near Magnolia, Sandy Township, and not long after one was erected in Canton Township. A German school was taught in Canton Village in a log barn during 1809, and it is said that even before that year a Mr. Stevens taught a school in Plain Township. About the same time Bethlehem Township had its pioneer school. The first school in Sugar Creek Township was taught on the McFarren Farm, and the pioneer of Tuscarawas was a night school opened in the winter of 1812-13. Its first day school was taught some time later. Nimishillen Township's first school was opened during 1814 in a cabin built on the farm of Ulrich Spenley. Lexington Township had a school in 1820, and Marlboro's first schoolhouse was erected in 1825. The first select school in Perry Township was taught by the late Gen. Cyrus Spink. A log schoolhouse was built in Jackson Township very Vol. I-8 114 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY early, its teacher being Thomas Carmichael. Doctor Michener was the next teacher in Jackson, and was remembered for years on account of the persistency with which he enforced the use of correct and pure English. Altogether, perhaps the best known teachers of the times when the county schools were taking root wcre William Lee, Andrew Murray, John Laughlin, Andrew Johnson, Alpheus Brown, Lewis Probst, James (PICTURE) A LOG CABIN SCHOOLHOUSE Grounds, Cyrus Spink, Thomas Carmichael, Dr. B. Michener and David Lawson. DEVELOPMENT OF THE FREE GRADED PUBLIC SCHOOLS It was not until 1821 that the first state law was passed authorizing taxation for the support of the public schools, and until that year the schools in existence were neither public nor free, in any true sense. In Henry Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio" is the following excellent epitome of educational progress in the state, containing facts which are necessary to the understanding of the more special advancement in Stark County:. "The building in which a pioneer school was conducted, if a separate building was used, was extremely simple and uncomfortable. It was generally from fifteen to eighteen feet wide and twenty-four to twenty-eight feet long, and the eaves were about ten feet from the ground. Built of logs, its architecture was similar to that of the log cabin of that day, even to the latch string. The floor was of earth, or of HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 115 puncheons, or of smooth slabs. In the more elegant buildings the inside walls were covered with board, but the more common coating was clay mortar. The furniture consisted principally of rude benches without backs, made by splitting logs lengthwise into halves and mounting them, flat side up, on four legs or pins driven into the ground. Desks similarly, though less clumsily made, were sometimes furnished to the big boys and girls. The room, or at least one end of it, was heated from an immense fireplace. There was no blackboard, no apparatus of even the rudest description to assist the teacher in expounding the lessons. "Reading, spelling, writing and arithmetic constituted the course of study and in some districts, as late as 1825, a rule was in force prohibiting the teaching of any other branches. Text-books were few. Murray's Reader, Dillworth's or Webster 's Speller, Pike's Arithmetic and the Columbian Orator were the usual outfit of the teacher, and each of the pupils generally had one or more of the books in the list. Reading and spelling were the great tests of learning, and to have mastered arithmetic was to have acquired an education, at least in the smaller districts. "While honor should be paid to those who maintained and those who attended these schools, and all credit given for the results achieved, it has been truly said that 'schools worthy of remembrance between 1802 and 1820 were known only in the most enterprising. towns. The mass of the people had privileges in such common institutions as might be expected among communities in which school teachers were tolerated, but neither examined for qualifications nor encouraged for merit.' "In 1821 the law was passed, already referred to as the first one authorizing taxation for the support of schools. This law was, however, simply permission, and not until 1825 was any law adopted requiring the levying of taxes for school purposes and providing for the appointment of school examiners. With these laws the schools began to improve. Still in 1837, twelve years later, there were few public schools in Ohio. Fortunately, in the latter year provision was made for a state superintendent of schools, and Hon. Samuel Lewis was appointed to the office. His three years of service produced an immediate and permanent effect upon the schools. In 1838, as a result of his suggestions, a law was framed that placed the schools of Ohio on a sure footing. It provided for a uniform system of schools, the state superintendent at the head to enforce the law and look after the general interests of the schools. Other laws were adopted in later year that supplemented and amplified this, and made possible the present efficient schools. "In 1825 began the system of examining teachers, but as late as 1838 the law only required that they should be examined in reading, writing 116 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY and arithmetic. These requirements have been raised from time to time by the addition of other subjects, but while the majority of the teachers in the state today are thoroughly competent, the requirements and the methods of examination still permit many poorly-equipped teachers to practice upon the boys and girls in the rural districts. "In 1845 the first teachers' institute was held and in 1848 a law was passed providing for the appropriation of money in each county for the purpose of having such institutes conducted. In December, 1847, was organized the State Teachers' Association, which has held annual meetings from then to the present time. "In the early schools of Ohio, as of every other state, all the pupils sat and recited in one room and to a single teacher, and any systematic gradation or classification was impossible, even if proposed. The chief impediment was the lack of suitable and sufficient school buildings. Where two or more schools existed within a village or city, the pupils were divided geographically, not by grades. Pupils of all ages and degrees of advancement sat in the same room. The first systematic gradation and classification of pupils in Ohio was in Cincinnati, between 1836 and 1840, by virtue of a special law dividing the city into districts and providing a building for each district. In each building the pupils were separated into two grades, studying different subjects and grades of work. This was followed in a few years by the establishment of a Central High School. In Cleveland the first free school was established in 1834, and in 1840 the schools were graded. Portsmouth, Dayton, Columbus, Maumee, Perryburg and Zanesville soon, by special acts of the Legislature, organized graded schools. In each of these places provision was made for from two to four grades of pupils, but, except in Cincinnati, no definite course of study, such as exists everywhere today, was adopted for any of the grades until about 1850. "No sketch of the educational progress of Ohio would be worthy of notice that did not describe the Akron law which, when extended to the whole state, established the present system of free graded schools. The Akron law, passed in 1847, organized the town of Akron into a single district and provided for the election of one board of six directors, who should have full control over all the schools in the town. It authorized the board to establish a number of primary schools and one central grammar school ; to fix the terms of transfer from one to another; to make and enforce all necessary rules ; to employ and pay teachers; to purchase apparatus ; to determine and certify to the Town Council annually the amount of money necessary for school purposes ; to provide for the examination of teachers. In 1848 the provisions of this law were extended to other incorporated towns and cities. In 1849 a general HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 117 law was passed enabling any town of two hundred inhabitants to organize as under the Akron law ; this last law provided for the establishment of `an adequate number of primary schools conveniently located ;' a school, or schools of higher grade or grades; for the free admission of all white children ; and that the schools must be kept open not less than thirty-six weeks in each year. "Thus was the state provided with a system of free graded schools, under which there should be uniformity in grading and unity in management. 'By the close of the year 1855,' says Superintendent R. W. Stevenson, 'the free graded system was permanently established, met with hearty approval, and received high commendation and support from an influential class of citizens who had been the enemies of any system of popular education supported at the expense of the State and by local taxation.' " FIRST FREE GRADED PUBLIC SCHOOL IN STARK COUNTY The first free graded public school in Stark County was organized at Canton under the 1849 law, although there had been several so-called public schools in operation a number of years before. The county seat also had the advantage of several good select schools. Among these was an academy conducted by John and A. McGregor, who afterward became connected with the Stark County Democrat. Ira M. Allen took the McGregor select school and continued it until 1849, when he became the first superintendent of the Canton Union School, organized under the state law named. Both Mr. Allen and A. McGregor (the son of John, then deceased) were among the pioneer advocates of the public school system, and did much to establish it in Stark County, but John Lathrop, an early lawyer of Canton, was its first champion. At a later date Henry S. Martin, Daniel Worley and John H. Lehman did much to solidify the system at Canton, which, since 1851, has been controlled and developed by its own board of education. SCHOOL STATISTICS OF THE LATE '70s By the late '70s the rural schools had a working fund of over $250,000, including balance brought over from the preceding year, state and local taxes, and amount received from sale of bonds, fines and licenses. During any school year, however, teachers' salaries, interest, fuel and other expenses, such as purchases of sites and erection of buildings, would reduce that amount to $70,000 or $80,000. The value of school property, which, in the state commissioner's report, included the different 118 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY cities in the county, was about $500,000. The total enrollment of pupils was 16,103. THE FIGURES FOR 1915 At the present time (fall of 1915) the enrollment of pupils (outside of Canton, Alliance and Massillon, which are under the jurisdiction of their city boards of education) was 8,737 for school year 1914-1915, and the average daily attendance was 6,990. There are 179 rural school buildings, classified as follows : One-room country, 145 ; two-room country, 14; village and special, 20. The 284 teachers are thus distributed : One-room country, 145; two-room country, 28; village and special, 111. On March 7, 1838, an act was passed by the Ohio Legislature, of which section 38 reads as follows : "That there shall be, and is hereby created, the office of superintendent of common schools for the State of Ohio." No mention is found in that act regarding county superintendents, township inspectors or county boards of education. In fact, on March 23, 1840, the law creating the office of state superintendent of common schools was repealed and the duties of this office were assigned to the secretary of state. Later, however, the office of state school commissioner was created. The present law providing for county superintendents, county boards of education and for district superintendents in the counties, was enacted at an extraordinary session of the Eightieth General Assembly, in March, 1914, and went into effect on May 20, 1914. After this the officers provided for under this law were selected. The school year beginning September 1, 1914, was the first school year that the rural and village schools in Ohio were under the control of the county board of education and a county superintendent. This law does not apply to cities. In Stark County, the cities of Canton, J. K. Baxter, superintendent ; Alliance, B. F. Stanton, superintendent; Massillon, L. E. York, superintendent, are exempt from county supervision, and the following towns are exempt from district supervision : Louisville, W. A. Forsythe, superintendent ; Canal Fulton, E. D. Morris, superintendent ; Uniontown, J. L. Gower, superintendent ; Hartville, F. Espenschied, superintendent. Stark County is divided into eight districts : The district supervisors are : H. C. Leonard, District No. 1, composed of Marlboro Special, Marlboro Township, Lexington Township and Greentown Special. J. C. Chenot, District No. 2, Washington Township, Paris Townshipo Hostetter Special and Minerva Village. C. W. Weeks, District No. 3, Nimishillen Township, Osnaburg Vil- HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 119 lage, Osnaburg Township, Mapleton Special, Sandy Township and Waynesburg Village. H. M. Horst, District No. 4, Canton Township, Pike Township, E. Sparta Special and Magnolia Village. F. C. Nydegger, District No. 5, West Brookfield Village, Perry Township, Bethlehem Township and Navarre Village. Will H. Stahl, District No. 6, Sugar Creek Township, Beach City Village, Brewster Village, Wilmot Village, Special No. 2 and Special No. 4. W. G. Seese, District No. 7, Tuscarawas Township and Lawrence Township. C. F. McFadden, District No. 8, Plain Township, Jackson Township and New Berlin Village. A high school that has a four-year course and the required curriculum is classed as a high school of the first grade. Those having a three-year course and the required curriculum are classed as second grade. Besides the three cities, Canton, Massillon and Alliance, five towns in Stark County have a high school of the first grade : Louisville, Minerva, Uniontown, Hartville, Canal Fulton. There are ten towns in the county that have high schools of the second grade: New Berlin, Greentown, East Sparta, Navarre, Beach City and Waynesburg, Marlboro Special District, Magnolia, Harrisburg and Justus. In addition to these there are several towns having high schools of the third grade. POPULATION FOR A CENTURY The first reliable census of the county was taken in 1810, and indicates a population of 2,734. The figures for the years ending the successive decades are as follows : 1820, 12,406 ; 1830, 26,558; 1840, 34,603 ; 1850, 39,878 ; 1860, 42,978 ; 1870, 52,508 ; 1880, 63,993 ; 1890, 84.170 ; 1900, 94.747 ; 1910, 122,987. A comparison of the population of the county by townships and cities in 1870 and 1910 is given below :