The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1856-03-27
The Early History Of Mantua.
lr JOHN HARMON.

~ Suuec huInoH . sOutuotb oeiotO hotCs-
red to. find il noted, as fOllOws-he then
living at Sheldon's place in Aurora:
"Sept. sth.--Bought North half Of lot ls
in Mantus."
Sept. Ioth.-Went 10 Msntua and looked
for a place to put my house.
loth.--PitChed on place, and began to
cut logs.
9oth.--Cutting logs for my house.
2lst Cutting logs, and went home tc
Aurora.
25th.--Drawing logs for my house.
26th.--Putting up the lower part Of my
house.
27th.--Cutting shingls timber.
29th. Began to movement to Crooks
camp,
aoth.--Moved on to my fland] and pitch.
ed my tent. [The Nord land omitted In the
Journsl.1
October lst.--Drew poles and put the
roof on my house.
2d.--Splitting shingles and laying on the
North side Of my house.
3d.--Do. do. do. south side do
4th.--Finished shinsling, and moved into
my house.
5th.--Hacking and cliinking the house,
And thus the Diay continues to make {
brief mention Of the business of each day
until the Goth Of May following, during
which time.it would appear, he had got hi.
house pretty comfortably fixed; though no,
finished, wheu the first snow storm is men.
toned. Feb 9th. He had ,ught Crooks
corn and fodder, aud several days were oc.
cupied in drawing corn and fodder, aud some
days were spent grinding" Edwards;whc
could turn his hand to many things. hat
made small hand grist mill, cutting the
mill-stones out Of bouldefs found there, and
the grinding Of the settlement was done a,
that mill. generally two hands working at n
time. Many other mil.stones, for the neigh.
boring water mills, were, in after years
worked out of boulders found in the East
and South parts Of Mantua, by Capt. R. Ed.
wards, and by Mr.. Bradford Kellogg of Hud.
son, and his sons, Alfred and Aanson Kel.
Iogg, now of Ragenna.
Some days, mention is made Of going and
buying turkeys and meat of the Indians, and
many days "choPpng," aud in the spring
burning BRUSH"
November 9lst, he helped Mcintosh
rsise his house, 'and '22d, helped Honey raise
his house His oxen ran away, about the
20th of October, and the 25th OF November
he found them, at Mr.. Hills in No. 7, 9Th
Range. [Now MiddIeisId] His COW too,
often nude him trouble by going away; and
once, October goth, Mr.. Crooks drove her
home from Warren; she having been gone
then IL days.
1t appears that January ls,, 1900, they
made New Years feast, and Invited to II
all the people in town, whirh were then but
8 besides themselves-Mr. aud AIRS. Honey,
and Mr.. Edwards; Mcintosh having gone,
probably-to Chagrin or Mentor. to spend the
winter. have often heard Mrs. Harmon
mention, their having had oil the people Of
the township there at lha. time. to New
Years supper.
From the 10th to the 23d of February, he
records deep snow, when he worked in the
house making plank floor, shelves, &c and
afterwards making baskets, when the next
snow fell, the last OF February. and first
week in March. The first Of tapping trees
and making tronghs,' are mentioned, as on
14,h and 18th Of March; and continues
gathering sap" till April 9th. Further,
"April 7,h, put up Mills heuse"--Deluun
Mills, near the Centre of Nelson. "April
18th, put up Pond and Brooks house."
Moses Pond and Jonathan Brooks, both,
bache elors, had bought some six hundred
acres of land in Mautua, or Pond had, the
whole of lot IS, and East half Of lot 49,
That house stood on the West side of the
present road. in the orchard, few chains
South Of the new house of Chauncey Blair.
Pond planted some apple seeds that spring
on the hill, west " ard OF his house, and made
small nursery, from which the oldest orch.
srds Of Mantua were taken. Brooks did mol
stay long in Mantua, but soon after settled
and married in Burton.
Some time this season, Amzi and Jotham
Atwater, brothers, and both bachelors, bot
and settled on 200 acres, the West part Of
lot Al, now occupied by Darwin Atwater.--
They built at the foot Of the bill, near the
present crossing Of the Cleveland and Me.
honing RaIroad-now nearly constructed
The later residence Of Judge AMI Atwa,er
was erected on the same ground.
The carly settlers had no water miiis.nor
stepm mills, as we have. They ground their
grain by hand mills, and their lumber they
hewed with great labor. May days oI
|"Hewing." are noted in Judge Harmon'i
Diary. for bis floors, and those Of his neigh.
bors, though that had not before been hii
trade or occupation. He thus made his pun
cheon floors very smooth and neat; 50
smooth that the young people Of few years
later, used them on fourth Of July occa.
sion. 'whereon to ripthe light fantastic toe.