The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1867-02-14
Of whom I may spoal, at somo other tune


and John Walter, with their families. pre-
pairing to leave for the interior in the fall
of 1898, they having ascertaiued that the
land mt Quaker Bottom could not be pur-
chased at what they considered a fair price.
"Ihey sent their wagons, carts, plows, &C.,
round by the river to Chillicothe, and
packed through the woods, driving their cat
tie and hogs, to the Peepee Prairie, thence
on a newly made trace over the Scoto and
Sunfsh hills to the Falls of Paint, where
they wintered. Pope sold most Of his stock
to Gen. Massie for corn and land, the land
to be selected from any Of his unsold lands
in the Territory.
During that winter Pope explored tho
country on the head waters Of Lees Creek,
Paint, Hardin's Creek and Rattlesnake, as
far west as the East Fork Of the Miami,
and finally selected place where Leesburg
now stands. While he was thus engaged
his elder sons were hunting and trapping
beaver. Paint Creek, from the Falls up TO
the mouth Of Rattlesnalte, at that time,
was favorite haunt Of the beaver, and
they inhabited it in great numbers.
"The next spring 1900 the party moved
up to the place selected by Pope. They
had to cut their way through the woods
pretty much the whole distance, part OF
the route being on the old Indian trail
from Old Town, on the North Fork OF
Paint, to Old Chillicothe, on the Miami
They arrived at last, after a tedious and
fatiguing journey, and camped near a
spring on the left hand side of the present
road leading from Leesburg to Hardy's
fulling mill. All hands then went to
work and cleared out IA piece of ground on
the adjoining Lees Creek bottom and
planted corn. Lees Creek was named for
Gen. Charles Lee, of the Revolution whose
land warrants, received from Government
for military services, were located on its
waters"
! The first settlement on Clear Creek was
made by Hugh Evans, and his sons, Rich
ard, Samuel, Daniel and Amos. Mr..
Evans originally emigrated from Georges
Creek settlement, in Fayette County, Pa,
to Kentucky, in I7sS, and settled in Bourbon
County, near Paris. Here he remained
until after Wayue's treaty with the Indians
in 1895. Not liking to live in a Slave
State, he then determined to remove to
Ohio, and after making several trips to
look at the country, he finally selected
three thousand acre tract of land on Clear
Creek, which was entered and surveyed for
him by Gen. Massie
In the fall of 1899, Mr. Evans, with his
sons and sons-m-law, came over and built
their cabins, and the next spring moved
their families. They followed the trail
! from Manchester to New Market, from
which place to their land on Clear Creek
they had to steer their way through the
unhroken forest by the aid of compass
Hugh Evans built his cabin ON the farm
where Daniel Duckwall now resides, VIM.
] Hill next below on the creek, Amos next,
then Daniel and Samuel, then Joseph
Swearingen, George Wilson and Richard
Evans. Swearingen, Wilson and Amos
Evans did not, however, move out for some
time after. At that time the. settlement
formed the extreme frontier, there being
no white mans house to the north, with
the exception, perhaps, Of small settle
ment at Frunklinton.
Richard Evans started with his family
/ from Kentucky in March, 1900 There be-
ing snow on the ground, they travelled in a
large sled, drawn by two horses and two
oxen, leaving part of their goods to como
on by wagon when the ground got Hrm.-
As soon as the family arrived, they went
to work to make supply of sugar, then
cleared out the ground, and by the last Of
May had 8 or 10 acres fenced in and ready
to plant. BY that time the wagon had ar
rived from Kentucky, bringing supply
of seed corn, potatoes and little -four,
which was a great rarity in those days,
and mostly came down the river from
/ Pennsylvania.
"The first corn planted on the farm of
the late RICHARD Evans was planted on the
last day of May and first day Of juno,
$500. The soil being loose and rich, the
corn grew rapidly and yielded an abund-
ant crop, sufficient for the family and some
to spare, while pumpkins, potatoes and
turnips grew in large quantities. When
the corn began to ripen, and that was not
any too soon, for their supply Of meal was
almost exhausted, the question was how to
get It ground, for there was no mill. At
first a tin Crater answered the purpose, but
soon the corn got too hard. ldr. Evans,
however, was fully equal to the emergency,
so he went.to work and constructed what
was called a 'swcat mill" which fully
supplied the wants for time" This mill
is thus described by one who saw it. It
was made of a sycamore gum, about three
feet long, and followed out to the depth Of
about two feet. Into the hollow broad
dressed stone, with a small hole in tho
=, middle of it, was nicely fitted, so that tho
face of the stone was about inches below
the top. Then another stone was made to
fit exactly, on the face of the first, having
"A considerable hole in which to throw the
corn. Then a hand-pOle, with an iron
spike in the end, was fitted into small
hole near the edge of the top stone. Tie
upper end of this stick was fastened some
feet above the head, and there being
an iron spindle through the center OF tho
upper stone, and also passing through tho