HISTORY OF TUSCARAWAS COUNTY,

CHAPTER I.

PRELIMINARY SURVEY.

PROBABLY the history of no part of Eastern Ohio is fraught with deeper interest than that of Tuscarawas County. The history of every county, chronicling the pioneer period of trial and privation, the gradual development of the country's resources, and the rise and progress of its various institution, has a local interest and value, but in Tuscarawas County events have transpired which give it a wider, though a sad, celebrity. They cover a period of greater duration, and a field of wider range than attaches to an ordinary Bounty.

The boundaries of Tuscarawas County are adapted to give completeness and uniformity to its physical features. It is distinctively the region of the valley of the Tuscarawas River. This stream has a total length of about eighty miles, fifty of which are embraced within the limits of the county that bears its name. Entering from the north, soon after it has attained sufficient size to bear with dignity the appellation river, the stream pursues a winding southerly direction, dividing the county by its meandering course into two parts of almost equal size. It makes its exit in the southwestern corner of the county, soon after having taken the westerly trend, which is continued until .the river mingles its waters with those of the Walhonding, and thus forms the Muskingum: Tributaries which drain the surface of the county reach the river from either side. The most important of these are Sandy, One Leg and Stillwater Creek from the east, and Sugar Creek from the west. The latter has its source in Bucks Township, flows northward twenty miles till it almost reaches the border of the county, then, bending sharply to the southeast, crosses Franklin and Dover Townships, and reaches the river. The surface of the county is greatly diversified; the broad valley of the river, the more contracted bottom lands of its numerous tributaries, and the hills which rise in unbroken ranges beyond afford a rich and varied scenery, In general, the hills are high and steep, but in northern portions of the county they melt away into beautiful rolling fields,

The Tuscarawas Valley 120 years ago was a wilderness peopled by the Delaware nation, who were singularly fortunate in their possessions, for the

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valley abounded in everything that makes the hunting grounds of the Indian attractive. The plains were sparsely timbered, but in places the oak and the hickory grew, and groves of ash, chestnut and maple flourished comparatively free from underbrush. The river bottoms below were wilder, and contained a more luxurious growth. Bushes, yielding berries and fruit, were found in rich profusion, the tendrils of vines clasped the branches of tall trees, and beneath, tall matted grasses afforded abundant food for horse and deer. The river teemed with fish, and the forests Were filled with all kinds of wild game. The climate of this region, as it then appeared, is thus described by Zeisberger: The summer was hot, especially during July and August; the winter very mild; little frost occurred before January; throughout the Winter were few bright days, and rain fell in great quantities; the grass of the river bottoms remained green, and was found in full luxuriance by the end of March; with every variety of game, with fish and fowl, with vegetables, berries, plums and other wild fruit, the valley was a veritable paradise to the untutored savage. With its rich verdure, its capable soil and auspicious weather, it was the garden spot of the West, and the favorite haunt of the red man.

The fifty or more miles of the valley embraced within the limits of Tuscarawas County lay in the heart of the Delawares' territory. Its early capital, Tuscarawas, stood near the northern confines of the county, opposite the mouth of Sandy Creek. The valley was threaded with well-beaten trails, often traversed by bands of savages on hunting or predatory excursions. This beautiful valley came to the knowledge of the white explorer. Hunters and traders, penetrating far into the wilds of the red man's country, saw and described its wealth and beauty. Prisoners of war found captivity tolerable along its placid waters. When the bush of peace gave place to the storm of open warfare, plans for distant raids were here concocted and arranged. When the punishment of the savages was determined upon by the colonies, and Gen. Bouquet given the command of an invading army, his approach to the Tuscarawas Valley, in 1764, was witnessed with consternation and alarm. The Delawares abandoned their capital before his irresistible advance, and fled in terror down the river, Perceiving the folly of opposition, they readily acquiesced to his demands, and surrendered to him all the white captives who had been adopted in the tribe and were dwelling in their midst. A new capital was founded at Gekelemukpechunk, near the exit of the river from the county, where the thriving town of Newcomerstown now stands. When hostilities began between the colonies and England, at this capital the Indian warriors gathered and sat in council; here they smoked the pipe of peace, and harangued in burning Indian eloquence; here they deliberated and decided questions of policy, involving war or peace with the border settlers. The region was familiar to surrounding tribes, who often sent embassies to the Delaware capital.

The Delawares had formerly occupied Western Pennsylvania, and there had come in contact with the zealous Moravian missionaries, who were aggressively engaged in propagating the Gospel among the natives of America. After their

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removal to the Tuscarawas Valley, an invitation was extended to the missionaries to engage in their work of evangelization in the heart of the Indian nation. Post and Heckewelder had attempted it here in 1762, but the outbreak of hostilities speedily brought their labors to a close. Ten years elapsed before Zeisberger brought his Indian converts from Pennsylvania to the banks of Tuscarawas. Pittsburgh, or Fort Pitt, was then on the extreme Indian frontier, or in fact, in the midst of the Indian country, but with intent to establish a permanent field of labor which would be remote from the disturbing influence of a depraved civilization, Zeisberger and his co-laborers came with their Indian followers, seventy-five miles beyond Fort Pitt to the wild solitudes of a valley which the feet of white men seldom trod. The wonderful success of the missionaries in turning the bent of Indian disposition from passion to meditation and prayer, and in converting the hostile weapons of the savage into implements of peace and husbandry, followed by calamities and ultimate destruction, consequent upon the sanguinary border struggle during the Revolutionary war, forms one of the most tragic and thrilling chapters of that period.

Within a few miles of the mission-villages and within the limits of Tuscarawas County, a fort was erected during the struggle for independence to check Indian ravages on the frontier. It was garrisoned, and was besieged by hostile warriors whose strategems accomplished the death of many gallant defenders of the fort. Though the soil of Tuscarawas County was remote from the American colonies and far from the settlements of white men, yet it witnessed more of the calamities of war than much of the land that was situated in the midst of that memorable struggle. No other portion of Ohio, perhaps, was more intimately associated with the stirring scenes of that eventful period. Thirty years later, when the conflict for independence was renewed with Great Britain,. Tuscarawas County was still on the verge of civilization. The Indians were yet occupants of its soil, and at the breaking-out of hostilities many of them put on the war paint and joined the bands of hostile warriors. The early settlers, though near the border and often menaced by savage attacks, were fortunately never disturbed.

The earliest permanent settlement of the county is blended with the history of the Indian missions. After the massacre of 1782, the cultivated fields in the valley relapsed into a state of wildness and produced only a rank growth of weeds and bushes until the missionaries returned in 1797 with the feeble remnant of faithful converts. The grants of land they had obtained from the Government were too large for their own use, and members of the Moravian Church were invited to emigrate from Pennsylvania and settle here. The first arrived in 1799. They were Germans and spoke the German language. The foothold that the people of this nationality thus obtained is still maintained, and it is probable that the German tongue is now as frequently used in this county as the English. The German Moravians for a few years composed almost the entire white population. Their church is still well represented, and a few years ago no societies of the Moravian faith existed in the State of Ohio except those of Tuscarawas County. Other Teutonic sects followed; the Omish

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came early and settled on Sugar Creek, where their descendants still prosper, with spacious barns and well-filled granaries, and maintaining the plain, unique dress and the simple manners of their forefathers. The Tuscarawas Valley, tinged with a German cast by its first settlers, attracted others of the same race. They founded the Lutheran Church which is now one of the strongest denominations in the county. The Dunkards, or German Baptists, also with their peculiar rites, secured an early recognition among the religious sects, and at present constitute a wealthy and respected part of the population. The Mennonnites, too, are found here. Most singular of them all are the Separatists of Zoar, whose quaint and quiet village in Lawrence Township has become a widely known resort for excursionists and pleasure seekers. The German emigrants of a later date have peopled the rugged hills of the county and have dotted their various settlements with sanctuaries of the German Lutheran and the German Reformed persuasions.

Three-fourths of a century have passed away since Tuscarawas County was organized. It then had a population of perhaps 1,000; in 1810t including a large portion of what is now Carroll and Harrison Counties, it summed up over 3,000. To-day the population exceeds 40,000. The seventy-five years that have just closed have perhaps witnessed more changes, more rapid progress than will occur in an equal period hereafter, At its commencement, the old Indian trails and blazed paths through the woods were the only means of ingress and egress. After the earliest pioneers had by following these primitive highways, reached their future homes, a limited amount of traffic sprang up on the Tuscarawas River. Its volume of water was then greater than now; corn was conveyed from settlement to settlement in canoes, and salt and crockery were ,paddled up the stream from Zanesville. Wagon roads were prepared slowly and with difficulty. It was a great event in the county when the Ohio Canal was constructed; the counties along its route were rapidly settled, land increased in value, and the production of grain for the Eastern market was stimulated to a high degree. Counties that were remote from a water-course of this kind did not feel the awakened activities experienced by the more fortunate. The canal period, too, has passed away, and the railroad taken its place in the freight and passenger traffic. No county in the State, with towns no larger, is so well supplied with railroads as Tuscarawas. Only three of its twenty-two townships are not pierced by the track of the iron horse. Three roads have been constructed and have commenced business during the years 1882-83. The mineral wealth of the county has drawn them hither. Coal and iron ore, fire-clay and building stone, of superior quality and immense quantities, lie hidden beneath the surface, and are gradually brought from their hiding places and transported to the markets of the world. The wealth of the county is agricultural as well. The staple farm products are raised in greater quantities than in the average counties of the State. Manufacturing is also carried on, especially in iron work. The crude native ore is not all shipped beyond the limits of the county. Five blast furnaces have been erected and one is yet in operation. Two rolling mills have been built, and both are now running at their

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full capacity, producing large quantities of iron. Combining the resources of a manufacturing, a mineral and an agricultural district, the advantages of Tuscarawas County will compare favorably with any in the State.

The Tuscarawas River in early times was known as the Muskingum. The Indians called it Muskkingum or "Elk's Eye." Maj. Robert Roger, who visited it in 1760, called the river the Maskongam. The name Tuscarawas was applied to the stream above its junction with the Walhonding at Coshocton, soon after the first settlers arrived. Of the origin of the word Tuscarawas, all accounts do not agree. The county was doubtless named from the river, and the river from the Indian capital which occupied the site of Bolivar, and was called Tuscarawas Town or Tuscarora. The name is said to have been derived from the Tuscarora tribe of Indians, a member of the Six Nations, some of whom had occupied this valley. The signification of Tuscarora is said to be "open mouth." Early historians make no mention of such occupancy, says Mitchener, and it is probable that Heckewelder gives the correct origin of the word; according to him Tuscarawas means "old town," and this was the name of the ancient Indian town, opposite the mouth of Sandy Creek.