The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1886-03-17
RAVENNA
Interesting Historical Facts
of Portage County.
Early Settlers Manufactures
Garfield-JOhn BrOwn-Gen.
Grants Father Cap
tain Brady.
RAvENNA, o., Feb. 25, 1856.

D
will digress somewhat from the usual
evening programme of hotel life and
chronicle a few historical items concern
ing this section, which may prove inser.
esting to the many intelligent readers Of
| the News.
Trumbull county was formed i'm 1900.
and at that time comprised within its
limits the whole Of that part of Ohio
known as the "Western Reserve" This
reservation was bounded on the north
by Lake Erie, on the east and south by
Pennsylvania and the 45th parallel, and
on the west by the counties of Sandusky
and Seneca. Its length east and west il
l2O miles, and its width an average of 50
miles. Trumbull was afterward divided
into several counties, Portage, OF which
Ravenna is the county seat, being one
of the divisions.
New England contributed a large share
of the early settlers of this county, and
consequently New England society with
its habit Of thought, its religion, itsideas
of schools, Of enterprise, and of all that
pertains to the industry, good order and
well-being of a community, was trans
ferred to this part of the grand old Buck
eye State. As a result of their noble
ancestors, the people here to-day possess
that shrewdness, perseverance, intelIi-
gence and love Of learning which has
always been characteristic of the New
England States. l have never been in a
place of this size where they have finer
libraries, better schools and educational
facilities than in Ravenna. The town is
also well up in its manufacturing inter
ests. The lamp chimney works, in which
alone are employed about 800 blowers,
and the window glass works are two of
the leading manufactures of the place.
1t is an interesting and fascinating sight,
especially at night, to watch the glass
blowers handling the glowing molten
masses Of glass. The large furnaces con-
tanning around their bases at regular in
tervals huge mouths through which dart
with every blast a thousand tongues of
| fire, the red-hot globes Of glass whirIing
through the air at the end of the blow
pipes, and the glittering CLASSY fragments
|scintillating hither and thither form a
weird and picturesque spectacle. But
this is not the burden of my letter. Por-
| tage county is the home of several dis
tinguished men Of the State, formost,
perhaps, among whom is our loved and
lamented ex-President,
JAMES A. GARFIELD.
1 have had the pleasure Of meeting many
of his old companions who look back
upon their associations with him with
great pleasure. Hiram College, Gar
fields alma mq,er,'is situated a few miles
east of this place. The school is small,
but the professors are considered com
petent and scholarly men, and the cur
riculum is quite thorough and practica-
BILE. The old canal may yet be seen up.
on which Garfield served his appren-
ticeship at canal-boating. Many inter
esting anecdotes are told of him by those
who knew him best, but since many OF
them have been in print will not repeat
them here.
JOHN BROWN,
OF Harper's Ferry fame, first lifted his
voice-against slavery, I presume-on
May 9, 1900. He came with his father
to Hudson, a small place then in this
county, in 1905 In 1927 he married a
Miss Lusk, of Hudson, and settled in
Kent, six miles west of this town, where
he purchased 80 acres of land, a portion
Of which is now occupied by the n. Y.
P. 10. car shops. He left Kent in 1870
and was subsequently temporarily locat
ed in several places, the longest, perhaps
in Kansas, where he passed into history
as the famous anti-slavery John Brown
The idea that he was the instrument in
the hands of God to break the chains o
the oppressed and set the bondman free
was the handspring to his every action
In attempting to carry out this idea al
tho head OF little body of twenty-five
men, he was captureed, tried by the
State Of Virginia and sentenced to b,
hung. He was executed December I'd
1859. The tragedy of John Browns tria
and execution was treighted with mo
mentous consequences, and proved to bl
an entering wedge to the downfall o
slavery. In Kent there still remains tht
residence of John Brown, and an ole
frame house built by him and designed
for hotel and warehouse. Some year
ago, my informant, who was then treasu
rer Of the Atlantic and Great Westen
R. r., told me he was travelling through
| Kent in company with a party of Eng
lishmen who were also interested in th
railroad business, when he informed TIM
English gentlemen that they were thel
in the town in which John Brown at on
time lived They at once expressed
desire TO see the Brown residence, ant
as they were on a special, stopped tn
train and proceeded to the Old reH,