The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-06-28

or nOrIn Dy tne talr 6rOuHus, Win itS
wooded hills and its pretty temples dedi-
Gated to Flora, Pomona, Agricola and the
Arts; or west, over the shaded avenue be-
tween ancestral homes; or south, past the
Leppleman estate, with its grand and
lonely dwelling seen for miles in any di-
rection, along the river-rocky and high
banked and noisy-through Ballville TO
| Oakwood Cemetery, we have, in any case,
more to see in one half hour than would
reward the eye in days drive through
a palmer landscape like ours at home.
We never could quite sympsthise with the
good fathers and mothers who, satiated
with the mountainous scenery of Eastern
New York and New England, chose the
other extreme in selecting homes in the
monotonous levels in Southern Lorain,
though it sounds almost like treason to
say it. rr,5.,J -
lakewood is the newer cemetery. and
but short distance from "Spiegels Grove"
the home of ex-President Hayes. He and
his wife were among the group who, with
Governor Foster and family friends and
older citizens, stood about the grave at the
burial of Mrs. Fosters mother. This lady,
Mrs. Olmsted, was the wife of the. first
merchant one of the 0lmsted Bros, who
brought a large stock of dry goods to
Lower Sandusky in 1916 The freight on
this stock of goods (billed at $27, ,0OO) came
to more than $4,000. 1t seemed almost
like sacrilege TO be even a reverent spec
ta@or of tl,a .ol,saor "a. of ono -, lorrr and
sacredly identified with history, for we
chanced to have been reading all about
the pioneer period, and the perils of In
dians, of war, of cholera and of malaria
that made the settlement of those San
dusky lands read like a romance; and
here, about the grave of that elect lady,
were white haired men who, with her and
her husband, shared in those very scenes.
| 1t was when woods covered these fair
hills that boy of seven, turning home
ward from looking after the cows with an
older brother, did not find the clear
ing where his fathers log cabin
stood, and his failure to return was
a tale of mystery and of conjecture
for thirty four years, and q new paragraph
was appended to the history TO say that
the boy Matthew, after so long captivity
with the Indians, returned and proved his
| identity. ..-e
1t will be remembered that Sardis Bir-
chard, the bachelor uncle who was like a
father TO Rutherford B. Hayes, died in
January, 1874, bequeathing 10000 toward
establishing free library for the use of
the city of Fremont and county of San
dusky. He designated to act as board of
trustees the Hon. r. B. Hayes, Gen. Buck
land, Drs. Rawson, Wilson, and Stillwell,
Rev. DR.. Bushnell, Col. Haynes, Mayor
Dickinson, and Superintendent Ross, of
the public schools, all of Fremont Gov.
Hayes, Rev. DR.. Bushnell and Supt. Ross
were appointed to select and purchase
books, and the library was opened in June
following the death Of the testator, though
the present library building, costing nearly
$1,000, was not erected till 1878. 1t stands
on historic ground, the site included in
the old stockade of Fort Stephenson, which
is known as Fort Stephenson Park. This
was secured to the city at a cost of SIS, 1000,
President Hayes paying $1,000 from his
! portion of the Birchard estate, and through
his exertions and generosity it was OBJ
tanned. The Park has an abutting wall
of stone on all four sides; the library
building, designed with special reference
| to convenience, stands near the western
side; the City Hall. a handsome structure,
i at tha r,ortl, aoet rornar opd baav,r otopa
stairs at each of the other corners lead to
circling walks. In the center stands
mounted Betsey Croghan, or "Old Bess, y
the cannon used by Col. (then Major) Gro
CHAN in his defense and grand victory at
the storming of the fort, August 9, 1918.
Gen. Proctor had 500 British regulars and
800 Indians armed, and howitzer and five
six-pounders were also used, and the can
nonading lasted twenty-four hours. Major
Croghan, a young graduate of twenty-one
years, had one piece of artillery-this sold
Bess and 160men. They hauled around
the old piece, and loading with slugs, and
grape-shot, fired it from so many different
masked portfolios, and with such deadly
effect, that the enemy thought the fort
full of cannon. They were repulsed with
n loss of at least two hundred killed,
wounded and taken prisoners, while but
one of the gallant little band inside was
killed and few wounded. Croghan dis
obeyed Gen. Harrison's orders in remain
| ing at the fort after being directed to fire
| il, burn his ammunition, sink his boats,
and repair in haste to headquarters. He
was also warned by the enemy, and threat
ened with massacre if he did not surrender
The enemy were the ones who plead for
mercy, and Harrison forgave the youth.
The official correspondence between Har-
rison and Croghan is preserved in the
library; also copies of the gold medals
presented Col. Croghan by Congress
After long inquiry and correspondence
with the War Department, the old gun,
Betsey,n was found at Pittsburg, and Con
gress finally passed resolution directing
that the gun be forwarded to Fremont and
given to the city authorities By some
misdirection 1t was sent to Sandusky City
and the authorities there desiring to keep
it, with thrifty forethought buried it. But
it was traced there, and detective put on
the search, who found where it was buried
informed Mayor Bartlett, of Fremont, and
he sent force of men and a conveyance
and the gun was resurrected and brought
home.
| In the gallery or second floor Of the
library is Mexican War trophy, a Spanish
six-pound brass gun, of the pattern made
prior to 100, one of four guns captured
during the Mexican War, named after the
four Apostles. A Revolutionary Wa
trophy is British six-pound brass gun
with British coat of arms and King George!