Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1867-04-17
HISTOR Y
Of
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY,
OHIO
Entered according TO Act Of Congress, in the
year 1867, by J. ". HOUI, in the Clerks
Office of the District Court for the
Southern District Of Ohio.
CHAPTER ".

CHAPTER ".
19 THE act which created the Coun-
ty of Champaign, provided that the act
should take effect on the first of March,
1905, and the house of Geo. Fithian, in
Springfield, was made the place Of meet
| ing for public business. He except House
of Public Entertainment, as it was called
in the laws of that day, and in new
county the public Inn was prominent
place.
20. On the 18th April, 1905, the As
soeiate Judges met in Springfield and held
a Special Session of the Court of Com
mon Pleas for the purpose of dividing
the county into townships Under the
Territorial Government, this power of
dividing counties into Townships had been
confded to the Courts of Quarter Sess-
ions, and under the State Government the
power had been continued in the Courts
of Common Pleas. At this first court,
the Judges present were John Reynolds,
Samuel McColloch, and John Runyon.
The minutes of the day are signed JOS
c. Vance, elk, G. c. and this seems to Be
the only evidence of his appointment
These minutes it may be well to observe,
are made in book which consists of one
quire Of wire wove foolscap paper, stitch
ed through and without any cover, doubt
less purchased from one of the Stores in
Springfield as the only thing to be had.
The venders of merchandise in those days,
would not be apt to have blank books as
a part of their stock and the nearest place
of supply would be Cincinnati, three days
distant, on horseback.
q. The Court divided the county into
three townships, as follows: First, all the
South part, embracing the entire width
from Montgomery county on the west,
to Franklin county on the east, and ex-
tending from Green county on the South
northward seven miles, embracing the
Ninth Range of Townships Congress
lands }, and the South tier of sections in
the Tenth Range was made a new town
ship with the name Of Springfield, after
the village of that name which had al
ready been laid out by James Demint.
Second, The remainder of the county
north of Springfield Township and ex-
tending to the State line, was divided in
to two Townships-the western one, call
ed Mad River, the other, Salem. The
line between them began in the line of
Springfield Township, on the section line,
between section 20 and section 26 and
continued north by section line, as far as
section lines reached and thence by a con-
tinued north line passed through the
present town of Urbana on the east line
of Donovan Farm which is also the east
line of the Urbana University grounds.
%. The elections in Springfield Town
ship were appointed to be held at the
house of Geo. Fithian The elections in
Mad River were appointed to be held at
the house of Thomas Kenton,-" Old
Uncle Tommy Kenton as he was called
in later years-the father of Mark Ken
ton, a worthy man who died some years
ago and whose sons yet live in the same
vicinity.
The elections in Salem were appointed
to be held at the house of Abner Barret,
who had come to the county in 1903, from
Kentucky, and at the close of long life
spent in the same spot, he left sons and
some Of whom are still among
US, and some, like many others, have gone
to the West.
%. Another duty of the Judges in or
ganizing the county was to assign to each
township, the number of Justices of the
Peace proper to be elected in each. They
assigned two to each Township, and they 7
the Both April, 1905, as the
day for electing Justices and other town.
ship officers. The clerk was directed to
give notice to the Townships of the pro
posed election.
"a. The Court also proceeded to ap-
point a Recorder for the county, and the
choice fell on Jos. c. Vance, who took
the oath of office on the same day.
On the 18th April, Jos. c. Vance in
with Jacob Minturn and
John Laferty, as his sureties, gave bond
in the sum of one thousand dollars to the
Governor of Ohio, for the faithful per s
formance of the Recorders duties, and I
the bond was lodged with John Reynolds, !
associate Judge.
The Court then adjourned to the next I
term, the day Of which was not then t
known, although the law fixing it had
been passed two months before.
9th May.-John Dougherty took the :
oath as Sheriff of the county, and gave f
bonds as such with Col. VIM. Ward, Rob {