Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1867-04-24
HISTORY Y
COUNTY,
OHIO
Entered according TO Act Of Congress, in The
year 1867, by J. n. HOUI in the Clerks
Office Of the District Court for the
Southern District Of Ohio.
CHAPTER v.

2G. UNDER the Constitution of 1902,
the State Of Ohio was divided into three
judicial circuits for the Courts of Com
mon Pleas, and for the First Circuit,
which embraced all the Western counties.
Francis DunIevy, of Warren county, had
been selected President Judge. Cham
paign county was accordingly embraced
in this circuit, and its terms Of Common
Pleas Courts were fixed for the first Tues
days in May, September and January
The Supreme Court which came to every
county once a year, was to be on the 14th
November.
p. It was mentioned in a former chap
ter, that when the Associate Judge, Of
Champaign county held Special Session
at Springfield in April, 1906, they ad-
iourned in the middle of the month to
the "next term, then unknown" The
Legislature then sat at Chillicothe and
altho it had adjourned on the 22d Feb.
it was not yet known at Springfield what
time had been assigned for the Courts in
Champaign County. Post Offices were not
established in the county, and no news
paper was printed nearer than Chilli
Gothic and Cincinnati. But meantime the
organization of the county was further
perfected by having three County Com
missioners, who were Joseph Layton,
Thomas Redman and John Lafferty.
They filed with the Clerk Of Court as re
quired by law proper certificates of their
having taken the oath Of Office the first
two being certified by John Reynolds as
Associate Judge, the latter by John Run
yon. Joseph Layton was afterwards an
Associate Judge of Clarke county and liv-
ed on the Dayton Road six miles below
Springfield. John Laferty lived six
miles east Of Urbana Nothing more is
known Of Redman, unless this mention Of
his name shall bring some account Of him.
%. During the summer of 1905 the
Commissioners who had been appointed
to locate the Permanent Seat of Justice
for Champaign county met within the
county to perform that duty. There was
at the time but one town laid off in the
county, and that was Springfield, but it
could not be chosen as the law required
the seat Of justice to be as nearly central
as possible. 1t therefore became nCcess-
ary that they should purchase land and
lay off town. But instead Of doing
this. they made an arrangement with Col.
William WaId, to select the present site
of Urbana as the county seat, Oh his Of
fcring to lay off a town and give to the
county one-half Of all the lots. 1t is said
that Col. Ward urged upon them to select
the table land at BogIe's run two miles
south Of Urbana, now owned by the coun-
tyas the Infrmary Farm. His reason was
that the distance between that and Spring
field was so much less, that Springfield
could not become a county seat and So
that incentive for a division of the coun-
ty would be taken away. The commits
sioners however selected the present site
and reported their selection to the court
at their September Term with the pro-
posals of Col. Ward. The action of the
court consisted in appointing Joseph C.
Vance as Director for the county Of
Champaign to purchase the land and make