Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1870-05-05

81 433, being Sc cents for each tree.
On the 9th OF December 1903, the Jail
was completed according to contract.
and delivered to the proper authorities
of the county.
On the 23d Of December 1871. the
Legislators passed an act appointing
Alex. Mitchell, VIM i Henderson and
Samuel Hawkins Trustees, and author
izing chem, as such, to sell squares B,
G and D, the Two former rest and north
soesf of the Court House Square and orr
ginally intended for churches, and the
latter north of the Court House Square
and designated for school purposes.
On the first dav of April 1872, your
humble sen want, then a lad of ten sum-
mers, put in an appearance in The neigh
borhood of the town, and 1 hope you will
allow me to say that, from that time TO
the present-now a little more than SO
years, l have been something more than
a passive observer of many of the more
important of the ~trunspiring events
connected with its history.
Eaton was then bnt sparsely settled,
and bore upon its face the mo { unmis-
takeable evidence of its forest origin
The most thickly inhabited portion was
Wadsworth street. 1t lad, on zach side
of it, a row of small, one story pole cab
ms, the spaces between the poles filed
and daubed with mud, and was familiar
ly known as Smoky Row" On Preble
street the buildings though not SO nume-
rous, were much better. To begin at the
west end: Capt David Z. Hendricks had
= reasonably comfortable two-story hew-
ed log house, now concealed within the
walls of the very pleasant residence of
Sampson n. Hubbell. Across the street
and nearly opposite, were two others
One on the ground now occupied by Mrs.
Kumler's house and one on Gen Marsh
corner. There was a cabin on the
ground now occupied by Joseph Wilson s
brick residence. The next was a group
of two-story frames Immediately east Of
the then Court House Square. The first
of them was owned and occupied by our
nOa0 venerable townsman, Cornelius
Vanausdal and his brother John, as n
dry goods and general variety store. II
had formerly belonged to Col. Samuel
Hawkins, n 1T sods IN Il that the first
court of Common Pleas of the county
was held. The ut is now owned by the
county, and forms the east part or side
still owned by Col Hawkins. IT was, ]
think, not even fully weatherboarded,
and he lived in a small pole cabin back
of it These buildings, having after
ward had applied to them the proper I'm
Ishing touches, became within the mem
Tory of many Of you, the National Ho-
tel" and while bearing that character
were burned down. The mex was owned
by Geo. Warrington, and was in a like
, unfinished condition. It was subsequent
Iy also finished of, and having passed
through v~arions ownerships, and as ma
, ny changes of business aud of style, It
still snrvi yes under the e~uphnnious cog
, nomen Of "0LIO,2 and is presided over
/ by the inimitable Jefferson.
/ do not now remember any other on
, that street, but q few rods distant on
. CHERRY there was a one story log house,
on the ground now occupied BY John
Frazer's brick dwelling; and nearly op-
posite, on the ground occupied by Perry
: Aiexarder's residence and Thos- Ful.
, tons shop, stood the log dwelling and
; smithery of Joseph WATSON. Then on
Baron street were the dwellings and cab
.Iinet shops of Alexander Mitchell and
, William B. Wilson. Those of Mr.. Mitch
ell-the family apartments being on the
lower, and the shop on The upper floor
ttare nov owned and occupied by Levin /.
McCabe aud family. Those Of Mr.. Viii
son occupied the very spot on which the
, corner stone of this building is about Il
e be laid. Under theg guardianship Of Mr.
' Joseph Donoboe. they have found theii
I way to the northern suburb, where theJ
have assumed the dress and the style
: h~odernized cottages. Long may they
Wavel On the corner Immediately nortl
of this, there was q cabin and smitherJ
4 occupied by q man named Daniel Nc
: Coy. They, together with their occu
z pant. have long since disappeared On
T, Beech, there WIS q double cabin of hew'
: ed logs Of one story, recently metamo or
phosed ipto quite q comfortable resi-
dence, aud at present occupied byABdJ
'tThompson. On Walnut, / think there
B was a log nous, with a basement used AZ
: hhat factory. and two upper stories foI
o family purposes. It belonged to a Mr.
) McCormaek. If there were others, and
I doubt not there were some. they have
: escaped my reeolieetion-5 d ~ aov -.
X: The streets we're In worse than n stat.
OF nature. Besides abe irregularities Of
{ surface, the st0mps, sBd even logs, ms
! mud during a large portion Of the year
1 was SO deep that Il was not an nco
|. mon thing to see loaded wagons stalled
lfEdown, and men with levers pfying then
! out, IN the very center Of town From
= the corner now owned by DR. Minor
I there passed ~diagonally across towards
dfthat of Washington Bruce, q fat sWals
THAT received and carried about all thu
water that fell upon the square bnundet
= by Preble, Cherry, Somers and BaroI
ylstreets, besiies much of what fell npoI
the square west Of it. This swale. by Al
irregular route near. ard sometime
/. lcrussing the west line of Baron street
: betweea the then hills cropping out from
1.-THE east on the one baud, and the YES
ION the other, and IN the course Of it's de
s scent, assuming in places the proper
e ftions of q deep n dangerous gully
found its way with its body Of water i
it the lower plain ofthe embrio town. Will
I lon the east margin of it. and conforming
pretty closely to Its meanders, had beef
6 ~improvised a single wagon track, over
a through, or under which all vehicles
y horsemen and pedestrians had TO fn'
their way up and down that portion o
It the street. Verify my friends, the mos
-rigid telescope scrutiny, could scareel,
d at this oay detect in these streets, anC
e especially IN that portion of Baron, a sin
vi gle feature commemorative of 1872. "a
n an item of natural history, though G lit
e tie out of chronological order, allow m,
j 10 here mention a fact already known 4
y many of you. At a later period, in re
moving anil breaking the stones Of th,
n first pavement put down on PyebI,
street, a beautiful and most perfect hal
. 6ioaon Rose, ina petrifed condition, vai