Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-03-01
THE NORTHWEST
THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OHIO
copyrighted. AHrights reserved. ]
CHAPTER vI1.-oTHER EARLY coUr
BY w.FARRAND FELCH.

CHAPTER vII.-OTHER EARLY COUN-
TIES-STARK COUNTY.
After the Greenvlle treaty in 1795,
Stark county was settled. Canton was
laid out in 1905, by Bezaleel Wells,
of Steubenvile. Among the prominent
pioneers of this county may be men,
toned: Matthias Sheplar, David A.
Starkweather and B. +. Letter, all of
whom were members of Congress; John
Rex, the father of Hon. George Rex,
one of the Supreme Judges of Ohio;
John SaXton, VIM. Dunbar, James
Allen, Daniel Gutshall and Peter
Kaufman, all able editors.
TUsCARAwAs COUNTY.
The first building erected in Tuscara-
was county were Thos. CalhOun's house
in 1850, Rev. POSTS house in 1851,
James O'Harn's trader house in 1853,
Zeisberger's mission houses in 1772.
The first births were those of John
Ludwig Roth, son of Rev. John Roth,
born at the Gnadenhutten mission,
July 4th, 1773; Maria Heckewelder, was
born at3 Schoenbrnun, prior to 1881.
Ofthe other Moravian ministers, Morti
mer, Smick, Jungman and Edwards
had no children born in the valley.
The first preachers in the valley were
Post and Heckewelder in 1851 -62, Zeis-
berger in 1772; soon after came Smick,
Edwards. Roth, Jungman, Huebner
and Mortimer.
Columbiana county was formed from
. Jefferson and Washington March %,
1903. The county was partly settled
before he commencement of the pres
ent century. 1877 a few families had
settled in its limits. AS early as 1885,
Ensign john Armstrong had found sew
eral families in this county. (See Chap
ter ~, Part ILL., In 1897, family
named Carpenter settled in the vicinity
of West Point. Captain "White Byes,"
noted Indian chief, stopped at his
house, and being drunk, got into an
alteration with Carpenters son, lad
of II, and threatened to kill him. The
young man turned and killed the 1ndi-
an in self-defense. AS this was in time
of peace, Carpenter was apprehended
and tried at Steubenville, but was ac
quilted. The death of White Eyes
created great excitement and fears were
entertained that it would provoke hos
llltIGSt HicdU CAClIlOIlS "ClC w
reconcile them, and many presents were
given to the friends of the late chief.
The wife of White Eyes received from
three gentlemen the sum of $500, one
of the donors being Bezaleel Wells, of
Steubenville. This was the last Indian
bloodshed by white men in this part of
Ohio.
New Lisbon, the county seat, was
laid out in 1902 by the Rev. Lewis Kin
ney, and year or two after was made
the county seat. New Salem, now
called Salem, was settled in 1904 and
laid out by Zadock Street, John Strong
and Samuel Davis, members Of the
Society of Friends, from Bedstone of
Pennsylvania. The writer resided here
several years.
Geauga county was formed from
I'rumbull, in 1905, since which time its
original limits have been much re-
duced. In 1S40 the county of Lake was
taken from its northern part. The name
of Geauga or ,heaugd signifies "Rac-
coon." 1t was originally applied to
the Grand river; thus .Meauga sepe
means "Raccoon river" The first set
tlement in Geauga was at Burton, in
1893, when three families settled there,
coming from Connecticut. Chardon
was laid out in 1908 for the county seat
and named from Peter ChardOn Brooks,
of Boston, the proprietor of the soil.
Athens county was formed from
Washington, March l, 1905, and derived
its name from Athens, its seat of justice.
In Evans map of the Middle British
Colonies there is placed on the bank of
the Hooking, station or fort called
"French Margaret's.n Lord Dunmore
in his famous expedition against the
Indian towns on the Scioto, in 1774,
landed at the mouth of the Hockhock-
ing in this county and built Fort Cow
er. The county was settled shortly af-
ter Wayne's victory. The first mill
was erected on Margaret's Creek in
1900. In 1906 the county of Athens
contained l ,053 square miles, or about
30 regular surveyed townships, and in
cluded five townships, since transferred
to Meigs county, two to Morgan coun-
ty, three to Hooking county, and seven
townships to the new county Of Vinton,
at its formation in March, 1850.
The county thus depleted, has q
diminished territory of but 484 square
miles, divided into fourteen townships.
In the era ofcanal impulse, in which
Ohio, following In the wake of New
York, though, far less successful, this
county was slightly interested. The
Hooking Valley canal, after short sea-
son of some usefulness, has fulfilled its
mission, but partially, in the little val
ley and subsfded.
Champaign county was formed from
Greene and Franklin, March |, 1905,
and the temporary seat of justice was
fixed at atSpringfeld. Urbana, the coun-
ty seat was laid out IN 1905 by Col. VIM.
Ward, the proprietor, who was origi-
nally from Greenbriar, Virginia. He
named the place from the word
''urbanity." The two first settlers were