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

It's Past and Present-Pen an
Ink Sketches Of the City
and its Business
Interests.
Although it is not ye. half cent?
ry since Findlay was founded, it
even now almost impossible to obtai
accurate data of the past. So far a
has been possible, from individual
and records we have aimed to gleal
information we know it is incom'
plete. bu' such as it is we herewith
present il to the readers of the JEF
FERsoSIAs, believing it will not bt
wholly without interest.
There is commendable desire OF
the part of our citizens to see in prinI
an article of this nature,-we have
aimed at impa rtiality and truthful
ness, and can only add by way ol
apologetic prelude
what is writ is writ.
Would II were vorthier."
We are accustomed to look upor
Ohio as an old settled State, and so il
is in contrast with those west of the
Mississippi-but with few solitary
exceptions) the whole country is new
many of those who lived in the
County of Hancock when it was or.
ganized in 1920, are still living, doubt
less, though none of them are here,
and the development of the County
has occurred within lifetime. Then
it vas County but in name, settlers
were few, and all the disadvantages
of a pioneers life were to be en-.
countered.
Until 1928 Hancock County was at.
tached to Wood County, for munici.
pal purposes, snd it was not until the
first Monday in April, 1928, that an
election was held for the purpose oi
securing separate organization. There
were no voting places in the County
except Findlay, and here the voters
came. The total number of votes
cast were but seventy-two, the officers
elect holding Office for six months.
If we are not mistaken, Matthew
= Riley was the first Auditor, William
Hackett the first Assessor, Joshua
Hedges the first Treasurer and Dom
Alonzo Hamblin the first Sheriff; the
Commissioners being John P. Hamil-
ton, John Long and Huff,
and the first Associate Judges we're
Messrs HUFF, Hammond and Nc
Kinnis.
Ofice-holding was not very profta.
bic in these early days. The first as
sessment of property resulted in total
tax of between seven and eight dol
lars. The Assessors fees for his first
years work amounted to fourteen
dollars, and for the second years
work he received fifteen dollars, the
Commissioners increasing the amount
subsequently to the muni6cent sum of
twenty-five dollars, his duties being to
assess the personal property and
reslty of the entire County. Now-a-
days it costs 81, 500 to assess the per-
sonal property alone.
The first prosecuting attorney OF
the county was Anthony Cozard, who
lived in Bellefontaine, and whose
yearly income from this source was
S25. The first County Clerk was
Wilson Vance.
The first written data to which we
have access is that of March I'd, 1925.
when the Board of Commissioners met
for the usual purpose of transacting
regular business. Those Commits
sioners were John P. Hamilton,
Chsrles McKinnis and John Long,
being the second board elected.
There are no records of the plating
OF the town, or what Commissioners
designated Fiudlay County seat, to be
found in the Court House House here,
though we are informed the records
OF Wood County give this informa-
ton, and at the date of which
we write the chief business of the
Commissioners seemed to consist of
hearing petitions from sundry parties
praying for County roads
Findiay was laid out in 1927 or '2s
by Messrs. John Vance (afterward
Governor of Ohio and Mr.. Cory,
father of Hon. d. j. Cory, the
former then living at Urbana and the
latter at Dayton. In 1929 sale of
lots took place. The first white set
tier here was John Cox, in '24, but
when the town was laid out VIII
son Vance, a brother of the Gov
ernor, and man named Schrouf were
the only settlers, Mr.. Vance then
living where the Walker House now
is and Mr.. Schrouf near the Ashery.
Long before this date there had
been whites living here, but who
could not be properly called settlers.
During the war of 1912 block house
was built where Mr.. Corey now lives,
which was garrisoued for time, and
Hull, on his famous march to Detroi.
passed here. In 30, however, the
block house had fallen from its high
estate and was being used by Wilson
Vance as a stable. "To what base
uses are we turned"
In 1927 Squire Carlin came from
Maumee City and was the first one Il
open a store here. There were thel
but few citizens in the county, ant
they mostly along the banks of th'
streams, but migrants were gradual
ly coming in, and their wants had +
be supplied. To the north and ives
we're the Ottawa Indians, and to tn
south and east were the wyandots
and the trade with them was an i'm
portant part Of if not the principal
business. There wasn't superabund
ance of money among either Indian
or whites, so coon and other skins sur
Piled its place-a specie of currenc
that few, even the most bitter opp
nents of our banking system of tod,
would care to return to. This Ii
tie store Of Squire Carlin was, the
the foundation stone of our busine