The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1872-03-15

ham opened school in small Ia
C. hut, and in the same year Parlee ca
90 lln' Mathew Riley, a carpenter, NJ
w Hale, and some others csme. incIut
: ing Mr.: Slight and Mr.. Hamilton, wh
engaged in farming near here Parle
Carlin went into partnership with hI
brother, and the following year too
" a stock of goods down to the mout
of Blanchard's Fork of the Auglalzt
where he did a thriyingtrade with th
Indians and white settlers, subsequent
!. ly returning here. The hotel accom-
. modstions were rather primitive
a Wilson Vance entertaining traveller
s in a small log house. Probably room
nor caasins then would compare yer,
favorably with the "Joy' now.
The postal facilities muss have beer
moderate indeed, since it is currentl,
reported that Squire Vance (the frs
to be invested with the cabalistic it'll
2. NJ was wont to carry the mail il
bis hat and deliver letters to partie
addressed as he might happen to NEE
them in bis store or elsewhere.
Most of the buildings were of logs
In '26 the town proprietors had bull,
a saw mill here as an inducement te
immigration, but in '29 there were
but one or two frame buildings in
town.
| The luxuries of life were not in
abundance. Flour was only 10 be
obtained in small quantities, and when
purchased made to do duty in man.
ner that would astonish even our
most economical housekeepers now. a.
days, one barrel lasting large family
for a year or more. Instead of it corn
meal was used. There was a primi-
tive mill in town, rigged up after q
fashion peculiarly its own, and pro.
PEELED by horse power. Instead of
grinding the corn it really but
cracked it, and yet there was usually
an eager throng around the mill, each
anxious for an opportunity to get in
their grist.
At their meeting Dec. Is, 1881 the
Commissioners ordered that adver-
tisements be posted upon the three
public places for contracts for putting
up and finishing a frame in the village
of Findlay, to be 24x36 feet, two sto
ries high ; the lower story to be nine
feet in the clear and the upper story
81 feet; the lower story to have hall
or entry eight feet wide through the
centre, with good partitions on either
side, of planed board the one end to
be divided by partition through the
center; a good substantial fight of
stairs to be put up in the entry, the
doors to be panneled' and .hen fol
lows description of the manner in
which it IL to be built The award OF
contract was made to Wilson Vance,
Frederick Henderson and Jonathan
Parker, for $4,000. The building
was erected upon the site where j. j.
Wheeler's storenow stands. In lS4O
the Court House now In use was built,
and the old G. H. now forms the
residence of DR.. Carr, dentist
The earliest preaching here OF
which we have any aecount was by |
Rev. Thomas Thompson, who was
missionary to the Wyandot Indians.
Rev. Mr.. Gavitt,a a Methodist preacher,
oficiated quite regularly during 80,
and he was succeeded by Rev. Mr..
Day, who organized the Methodist
society, and in '32 Rev. Mumfort or
ganized the Presbyterian church.
These two societies were the pioneers
in the work OF the church; and the
seed they sewed must have fallen upon
good ground for it has brought forth
more than an hundred fold
At this early day the facilities for
intercommunicstion were of limited
character. There was but one really
passable road-leadlng from Belle
tontaine TO Perrysburg, perhaps bet
ter known as "I1ull's trace" having
been the route he pursued in his
march to Detroit. By-paths, blazed
through the woods were about the
only things to be relied upon. Of
course there was little home market
for any thing. There was scarcely
ever a superabundence raised, and
those who had wheat to sell would
haul it to Maumee or Sandusky City
and there sell it for from IS cts. 10
$1.25 per busbei; hogs were driven
to Detroit and sold there.
As early as 1889 the railway fever
broke out and took shape in the form
of an appropriation Of sl00. 900 by
the County to the Bellefontane d
Perrysburg railway company, but the
enterprised vanished into air-thin
air, and but few of our people are
aware that such an enterprise was
ever contemplated.
At this time the population Of
Findlay was still small, not exceeding
two hundred and fifty. Ginseng,
beeswax and furs continued to becur-
rent, and and there was no special
promise of the town ever amounting
to its present size. In fact there was
much against its growth. The ground
was low, wet and disagreeable,-just
such country as one could readily
believe was abounding in miasmas.
Roads were still indlferently or posi-
lively bad, the school system was yet
in embryo, and the only sustaining
causes of village growth were the fact
that it was county seat, possessing
moderate milling advantages, and the
settlement of the adjacent country.
Ten years had made many changes it
is true, still the outlook was not the
most promising. Government lands
were to be had in abundance, the
fertility OF the soil had been abund-
antly demonstrated, and settlers came
in quite rapidly, and the town bor-
rowed importance from that.
The first real impetus its growth
received was by the building of the
branch road from Carey here in 1850
or Isl. By means of it Findlay be-
came desirable market and reached
out for trade in every direction. Sub
sequently the Lake Erie & Louisville
road was completed from Fremont
here, giving us competition in freights,
and materially bene6tting the town,
indeed, the good effects resulting
therefrom will last as long as time.
And here We will remark that work is,
this season to be pushed forward along
the entire line OF this road, reaching
from Sandusky TO Cambridge City
|, Ind and thence to Louisville, aetua
head of navigation of the Ohio. L
peaetrste q most desirable section o
: country, aud give Findlay most de
, cided advantages as 3 shipping point
The work has commenced IN earnest
and will be completed as rapidly a
; possible, as subscriptions are fast beinl
/, taken. s.- cra ---.-- --..-.
Without its railways Findlay woul'
have remained an unimportant inlan'
town, possessing no advantages, offer
ing DO attractions With its railway
. it has become astiring, thriving cit
: of not less than 1000 inhabitants.
= But we cannot longer trace th